Ferrum College Sweethearts “Have Literally Been Together Half of Our Lives”

Joey and Margaret Cornwell, with their daughters Martha Ellen and Gracie.

“We have literally been together half of our lives,” said Ferrum College alumna Margaret Johnson Cornwell ’02. “This year marks our twenty year anniversary of being together!” This spring, the couple will celebrate their fifteenth wedding anniversary. And it all started with a pre-Valentine's Day phone call on February 13, 2000.

Margaret, a marketing major at Ferrum College, met Joey Cornwell, an agriculture major who also graduated in 2002, through a mutual friend while both were students at the College. About a year and a half passed and though the pair didn’t interact much, they found their paths began consistently crossing. But then Instant Messenger played the role of Cupid. "It was that long ago!" laughed Margaret. 

After talking several times on IM, Joey called Margaret for the first time the day before Valentine’s Day in 2000. He left a voicemail which ended up being deleted, so Margaret had to reach out to several people to get Joey’s number to call him back. They talked for hours during their first conversation, settled on dinner (at Outback) and a movie (“Scream 3”) for a first date, and have been together since. 

Ferrum College Graduation, May 2002

After their graduation from Ferrum College in May 2002, Margaret moved back to her hometown of Tuscaloosa, AL where she began teaching horseback riding lessons and running the local tack shop. Joey, who is originally from Nokesville, VA, remained in Franklin County and eventually landed a job working for Farm Credit as a loan officer. The couple lived in separate states for three years. 

“Honestly, with me being from Alabama, we had already done the long-distance thing a few times in our relationship during summer breaks,” said Margaret. “Although it wasn’t the ideal situation, we knew how to handle it pretty well.”

The couple learned the art of communication during those long-distance years. At first, neither had cell phones so they blocked out certain times of the day to catch up on their landlines. The eventual purchase of cell phones helped but the couple found talking wasn’t quite enough, so they made a pact to see each other every six weeks or so.

Joey knew he wanted to ask Margaret to marry him during one of those visits, so he specially ordered a photo of them made into a puzzle. His marriage proposal was inscribed on one piece, which he held for last while Margaret fitted the puzzle together. Finally, he gave her the last piece. “She kept spinning it and spinning it and meanwhile I’m trying not to throw up on myself,” Joey remembered.

   

On their wedding day, May 2005

On May 14, 2005, Margaret and Joey married in Tuscaloosa. They ventured off to a Jamaican honeymoon but after returning to the United States, Joey headed back to Virginia and Margaret to Alabama for a few more months. “Once we were married I did wait several months before moving to Virginia so I could tie up loose ends with my businesses,” explained Margaret.

“She didn’t arrive here until late January 2006. I was a married bachelor,” laughed Joey.

The couple eventually bought a house in Boones Mill in February 2007, where they live now with their two daughters, Gracie and Martha Ellen. Joey is a regional sales manager at Farm Credit and manages Rocky Mount’s Rotary Club. He enjoys gardening and supplying his family with summer vegetables all year long. Margaret is the head coach of Ferrum College’s Equestrian Program and has taken on the additional responsibility of head coach for Healing Strides’ new Athletic Equestrian League. She is currently training for the April 2020 Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Half Marathon.

“We have certainly had our ups and downs but it’s great knowing that we are each other’s best friend,” said Margaret. “This season of life we are in now with young children and pursuing our careers is probably the most challenging season yet but we are two totally different people and that seems to work for us. Somehow we are able to balance each other out without driving each other crazy!”

Joey agrees. “It doesn’t feel like it’s even been a day, let alone 20 years,” he said. “I’m doing something I enjoy with someone I love. I wouldn’t pick anyone else to do this life with.”

Happy Valentine’s Day, Ferrum College Sweethearts.