He was born February 10, 1931 to the late John F. & Helen (McGinn) Cunningham.
Don was a life-long San Francisco native; despite traveling the world, for him there was no place else to call home. He attended St. Ignatius HS (class of ‘48) and City College of SF (‘48-‘51). During the Korean War ('51-'55) he was stationed in Adak, Alaska and in Washington D.C. with the NSA while serving in the US Air Force.
On returning to the Bay Area, he earned his bachelor’s degree at SFSU (‘55-‘57), then his master’s degree at UC Berkeley (‘58-‘61). His true passion was teaching; he enjoyed 46 years as faculty in the City College of SF English Department.
Don was a member of Il Cenacolo since 1993 and a long-time member of the SF Mechanic’s Institute. He loved the 49ers, music, especially jazz, and the written word.
He is survived by his daughter Mari Cunningham, granddaughter Phelan Cunningham, step son Matthew Thompson, and grandson Connor Thompson. Don was predeceased by his brother, John Cunningham.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Don to the Mechanic’s Institute.
A gathering will be held when circumstances allow.
There are a couple of ways one can donate to Mechanics' Institute:
1. Check. Please have checks made payable to "Mechanics' Institute," with a brief note on the Memo line specifying the gift's purpose honoring Donald Cunningham. The checks should be mailed to:
Mechanics' Institute
57 Post Street
San Francisco, CA. 94104
2. Credit card, debit card, or PayPal. MI accepts Visa and MasterCard. For those who might prefer one of these methods, please open the link: https://www.milibrary.org/give and go all the way to the bottom of the page to the 'Donate' button which will lead you to PayPal page. After indicating the gift amount and whether using PayPal, credit card, or debit card, the following screen has a Note section. This should be used for the same purpose as the Memo line when writing a check.
For all who might wish to donate: MI is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Our EIN is 94-1254644. Gifts to MI are fully tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Our website is milibrary.org.
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