Cornelius J. McAllaster

6/13/1995 — 3/1/2020

Service Date: 3/4/2020
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Cornelius J. McAllaster passed away Sunday, March 1, 2020.

Cornelius J. McAllaster was born to Bob and Nancy McAllaster in June 1995 in Lewiston. His maternal grandparents are Russ and Edith George, paternal grandparents are Pops and Nama McAllaster. Cornelius never married. In 2017, James Cayuse, his son, was born to him and Alysa Minthorn. He was very proud of his son, who lives in Mission, Ore. He is also survived by a brother, Russell George (Jalisa), as well as nephews and nieces, of Lapwai.

He is also survived by aunts and uncles Lee Bourgeau, Phyllis George, Gloria Greene, Lucinda Simpson, Susie George-Weaskus, Reggie George Sr. and Teddy George Sr., all from Lapwai. He considered his cousins to be his brothers and sisters, and they are Danny, Karee, Tim, Bernadine, William, Kenny, Kelli, Rebecca, Rayna, Reg, Matthew, Frankie, Towatoy, Caroline, Jarvis, Lucas, Eli, Kamelle, Isacc, Talia, Dante, Nick, Ted, Ida and Sam. He also has relatives in the Seattle area. Family that will be greeting him in his next phase are his maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother, Grandpas Roy, YosYos and Jesse; his uncles, Timothy, Phil and Sam; and cousins Michael and Toni, along with other relatives.

CJ learned how to sign the names of some animals before he learned how to speak. He went to Camelot Elementary, where he received citizenship awards every year and one year received that award in eight of the nine months of the school year. He also attended Sacajawea Junior High in Lewiston through the ninth grade before transferring and graduating from Lapwai High School at age 17. As a youth, he loved Animal Planet and Pokémon challenges at Hastings. CJ liked computer games, he liked Reader Rabbit at age 2 and then moved on to more challenging online gaming.

He liked camping, fishing, hunting, gathering huckleberries, roots and tea. He enjoyed going for walks. He helped his dad cut fish and butcher game, and learned to make jerky and canned fish and meat. He hunted buffalo for an elder in Montana and fished for lamprey at Willamette Falls. He was grateful to our ancestors for maintaining inherent rights to hunt, fish and gather and was always interested in what was going on with our tribal resources. At age 14, he addressed the Tribal Health Board and told them of his concerns and mistreatment from the old IHS clinic. At age 15, he approached the Nez Perce Tribe Fish and Wildlife Commission to change the Nez Perce Tribal Code to allow hunting with a bow by Nez Perce; they did not respond the way he hoped. He then went to the next step and approached the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee to request the change, and they approved his request for tribal hunters to have the ability to hunt with a bow.

He enjoyed reading and watching YouTube for enjoyment and as a learning tool. He enjoyed comical stuff and learning about spirituality, cultural and an array of social topics, which he was able to have deep discussions on. He also liked to laugh and tease and joke. He often walked the hills outside of Lapwai and observed the animals, and he learned the locations of their dens and respected all God’s other creatures, with which he felt close ties.

CJ was grateful for Shannon of Aqua Touch Car Wash for taking a chance on employing him, and there he made many friends and was a dedicated employee. While working full time at the Aqua Touch, CJ attended night school, taking welding classes with plans to enroll in the fall in the Lewis-Clark State College welding vocation program. He exercised regularly, worked hard at the car wash and found the time to help his mom with projects. He liked making dream catchers and gave them away, a skill he learned from his cousin, Toni.

Cornelius will be greatly missed, but his work and learning here is done. We respect God’s plan for our loved one and can let him go knowing he will be on his journey to a glorious place to join others who went on before him.

A service is set for 2 p.m. today at Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home in Lewiston, with light snacks to follow. A funeral procession will be at 5 p.m. today from Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home to the Pi-Nee-Waus Community Center in Lapwai. Funeral services will be at 6 p.m. today at the Lapwai Community Center.

Service Information

Date & Time: Wednesday, March 4, 6:00 PM
Location: Pi Nee Waus Community Center
Corner of Main Street & Birch Avenue
Lapwai, Idaho 83540

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Additional Details: A gathering will take place today at 2:00 pm at Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home.