Jay Henry Cunningham

Jay Henry Cunningham, 96, died peacefully early Tuesday morning from complications of a fall a week prior. Until this accident, he had enjoyed remarkable vigor, mental acuity, and ready humor, living independently with his wife of 72 years, Lucille, in their Coppell home. He is remembered by all who knew him as a Godly man of selfless generosity, uncommon integrity, easy affection, and unceasing dedication to his spouse, children, grandchildren, friends, community and country.

Jay was an exemplar of the greatest generation. He was born in Davenport Iowa in 1925, the second of seven children of Raymond and Emma (neé Holtz) Cunningham, and grew up during the Great Depression. As a child, he moved with his family from Iowa to Nebraska, to Colorado, to various towns in west Texas, where he graduated from San Angelo High School. On his entrance into the U.S. Navy in July 1943, at the height of WWII, Jay was selected for the extraordinarily competitive V-12 program. This was an initiative to provide for a continuity of college-educated naval officers by sending the best and the brightest to universities. Jay attended Rice University as an active-duty midshipman for two years before being sent to the fleet as an ensign just as the war ended. He deployed to China on a heavy cruiser and then served on several LSTs, ferrying nationalist Chinese troops and supplies up the Yangtze River to confront communist forces. Following his USN service, Jay returned to finish his degree in electrical engineering at Rice and was a loyal alumnus.

Jay met Lucille at a church social in 1947 and after a two-year courtship, they married in February 1949. He was openly and unabashedly in love with her all his days, leaning over to kiss her at the end of the blessing at every meal and taking her hand at every opportunity. Jay encouraged Lucille to go to college when their youngest started school and was so proud of how she excelled academically through her undergraduate and graduate degrees. They followed his career to Dallas, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Dallas, and Austin. They traveled widely, throughout the United States and Europe.

Jay was an executive with Southwestern Bell Telephone for 32 years. He directed the phone infrastructure expansion to serve the explosive growth of population in the greater Houston area in the 1960s. After retiring from SWB, Jay facilitated the cable service expansion of Warner Amex and was a professional engineer with Espey, Huston and Associates in Austin. He subsequently owned and directed a youth sports photography business.

Jay’s commitment to contributing to his community extended well-beyond his military service and career. Jay had a deep faith and was a steadfast church member wherever they lived. He was an elder of Southwest Church of Christ in Houston. He was a founding board member of the Christian Child Help Foundation, serving foster children. Even when in his eighties, Jay was a Stephen Minister through the First United Methodist Church of Coppell.

Jay was a hands-on father to four children, playing ping-pong and catch, helping with homework and making sheets of practice math problems, and instructing them in bicycle and plumbing repairs, as well as budgeting and stock investing. Most Saturdays in the summers during the 1960s, he would pack up the family to spend the afternoon at Surfside, cooking hamburgers on the beach. Great memories. There were also wonderful road trips to Estes Park, Colorado every August. He was doting grandfather to 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, who knew him as “Topper.”

Jay is preceded in death by his parents, and siblings Joe, Rose, Mary, and Roy. He is survived by his wife, Lucille, of Coppell; son Keith Cunningham and spouse Sandra Cunningham of Austin; son Dr. Mark Cunningham and spouse Tiffany Cunningham of Seattle; daughter Jan Cunningham of Irving; son Glenn Cunningham and spouse Suzanne of San Antonio; brothers Robert Cunningham and spouse Carolyn Cunningham of Dallas, and Dr. James Cunningham and spouse Gwen of College Station; grandchildren (Cory, Caleb, Jacob, Benjamin, Clay, Cara, Kristen, Chloe, Todd, and Edwin) and great-grandchildren (Clayton, Caylee, Marcus, Silas, Lindy, Leo, Brian, and Elle) and many loving extended family members and friends.

Appreciation is expressed to longstanding care providers Dr. John Quinlan, Dr. Richard Johnston, and Dr. Kevin Wheelan, as well as the staffs at Baylor Grapevine Medical Center and Vitas Hospice. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Metrocrest Services (www.metrocrestservices.org) or the charity of your choice.