The Cors family gathered in Jacksonville, Illinois, August 21-23 for a family reunion at the Cors Arena, bringing together the children and grandchildren of Joseph and Nellie Cors.
In 1950, Joe Cors moved his family from Indiana to Jacksonville, where he bought a large house at 807 South Main. His mortgage payment was $100 per month. He knew he would need this big house for his growing family.
Joseph and Nell Cors were the parents of 11 children and 36 grandchildren — and no one has yet attempted to count all the descendants who have come from those 36 grandchildren!
What started as an idea between two cousins at a recent funeral grew into a first-cousins reunion, with the older generation invited as our special guests. With 36 first cousins, some of us had not seen one another since we were kids, and it had probably been more than 25 years since this much of the family had gathered.
Family members traveled from Williamsburg, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Southern Pines, North Carolina; Gulf Breeze, Florida; High Ridge, Arnold and Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Moline and Clinton, Illinois; Davenport, Iowa; Marysville, Ohio; Springfield, Illinois; as well as Jacksonville and the surrounding area. Between 35-40 family members participated throughout the weekend.
Seven of the 11 siblings are still alive. They are (back row, L-R) Bill Cors (Jacksonville, Illinois), Ken Cors (Florida) and Tom Cors (Ohio); and (front row, L-R) Carolyn Dowis (Springfield, Illinois), Marilyn Pomeroy (North Carolina) and Judy Cors (Moline, Illinois). Joe Cors is not pictured as he was unable to attend.
The only surviving sibling of the original 11 who was unable to attend in person was Joe Cors, who lives in Fair Oaks, California. Joe was the sixth child of Joseph and Nell Cors; he was named after his dad. He joined us by video call so he could see and visit with everyone.
A particularly interesting fact about “Uncle Joe” is that until he was 18 years old, his birth certificate read “unnamed male child Cors.” At 18, he traveled to Indiana and had his name added to his birth certificate. (The family’s reunion committee was actually unaware of this fact until Joe responded to a questionnaire sent to each of the 11 children — or to a family member in the case that he or she was deceased.)
We also connected by video with a cousin in Argentina and received a video message from a cousin who was traveling in Vietnam.
We gathered Friday evening at the Cors Arena, owned by Brad Cors, one of the cousins. The evening was spent getting reacquainted, sharing memories and playing a few games. One of our challenges was trying to put all 36 first cousins in birth order. It wasn’t easy, but we had a lot of fun figuring it out!
A family member had typed up this listing of the birthdays of the 11 children of Joseph and Nellie Cors. Some of the siblings, including Bill Cors, the dad of Kim Pierson, still carry it in their wallets.
On Saturday, we were joined by six of Joe and Nell Cors’ seven surviving children, as well as spouses of both living and deceased children. We began our day at Calvary Cemetery, visiting the graves of family members who are no longer with us. Afterward, family members had the opportunity to drive by the homes on Dayton Street and Book Lane where our grandparents lived after their children were grown.
One of the highlights of Saturday afternoon was hearing from the family’s current matriarch, Carolyn Dowis (currently residing in Springfield, Illinois). If you ever meet Carolyn, one of the first things she is likely to ask you is, “How old do you think I am?” The answer is 86 years young! She entertained us with stories about what it was like growing up as a Cors in the 1950s and ‘60s and gave us plenty of reasons to laugh.
After her talk, Carolyn became our bingo caller. Bingo was a favorite game of our Grandpa and Grandma Cors, so it seemed only fitting to include it in the weekend.
Another family tradition made a comeback Saturday afternoon. Many of the first cousins have fond memories of playing the card game Blitz with Grandma Cors. Back in the 1980s, she taught us to play using dimes. Apparently, inflation has even reached family card games — we now play with dollar bills!
Throughout the weekend, displays honored each of Joe and Nell Cors’ 11 children with photographs and biographies. We also remembered deceased spouses and the five first cousins who are no longer with us.
There was also a special little “God wink” that seemed to follow us throughout the weekend. Several times, as we gathered in prayer or paused to remember family members who had passed — during a quiet moment during Carolyn’s talk as we named those we had lost — we could hear the bells of Our Saviour Parish ringing in the distance. Each time, it seemed to come at just the right moment, a gentle reminder that God was with us and that those we were remembering were still very much a part of our gathering.
At our Saturday evening meal, we had another reason to celebrate. We surprised Tom Cors (the seventh child of Joseph and Nellie Cors) with a cake for his upcoming 80th birthday in September. Having so much of the family together made it the perfect opportunity to celebrate this milestone with him. We closed our reunion weekend by attending Mass together Sunday morning.
Staying connected has long been important to the Cors family. Joseph Cors had wanted his family to stay close, so he came up with the idea of a chain letter. The first family letter went out in 1985! It has traveled from one branch of the family to another, keeping everyone updated on addresses, milestones and what was happening in each other’s lives for 41 years now!
Over the years, Joe and Nell’s children also began gathering. First was the Cors women (sisters and “outlaws” as they referred to themselves), who started an annual trip to Las Vegas. Then those gatherings eventually led to other trips with spouses to places such as Lake Tahoe, the Ozarks and Maggie Valley, Florida. The next generation hopes to continue this tradition with the chain letter and gatherings.
More than three decades after Nell asked her family to stay in touch, that connection remains. A weekend that began as an idea between two cousins became an opportunity to remember those who came before us, reconnect with one another, laugh at old stories and make some new ones.
For a family that has grown through 11 children, 36 grandchildren and generations beyond, there was something very special about simply being together again.
