Judith Brown Cunningham

Marian Judith Brown was born June 17th, 1944 to Anne and Handley Brown in LaGrange, Georgia. Her brother Bill collaborated with their parents in choosing her name “Marian,” which also came from her mother’s name “Mary Anne.” Everyone knew her as “Judy.”

She graduated from LaGrange High School in 1961 at 16 years old and LaGrange College in 1964 (B.A.) at 19 years old. She received her Master of Education degree from Georgia State University in 1973.

Judy had just turned 20 when she taught her first class of second graders at Oak Grove Elementary. That year, she shared her love of dance and the stage arts with her students, teaching them Rogers & Hammerstein classics that later were beloved by her own family. She had similar fun with her fellow teachers, organizing a dance chorus line known as the “Oak Grove Rockettes.”

Many songs and dances later, Judy became one of Dekalb County’s first Special Help Resource teachers in 1970/71, originating what became the special education program. She was ahead of her time, understanding that a teacher must address a child’s emotional needs as well as academic needs.

Judy married the love of her life, Winston Cunningham, in Atlanta on June 29, 1974. Together, they raised two wonderful daughters, Clarissa and Grace.

When daughter Grace was born in 1982, Judy paused her formal teaching career to stay home with her girls. Judy was her daughters’ first teacher, teaching Grace and other preschoolers to read at “Aunt Judy’s Family Home Day Care.” She returned to teaching in Dekalb County in 1989/90.

Judy passed on her love of dancing and music to her daughters, enrolling them in dance at the age of 3. She was a supportive, but never high-pressure, dance mom, doing hair and makeup and cheering for more than 15 years of dance recitals, community shows, and Grace’s performances in The Nutcracker with The Atlanta Ballet. Judy later traveled to Athens, GA and Washington, DC to see Grace’s dance and musical theater performances in college and early adulthood. Many happy moments were spent singing and dancing in the kitchen.

She was a caregiver, a teacher, and a gift giver. She showered every child she met with love, learning, and knowledge from the time she began teaching in the early 1960s, to well beyond her retirement in 2003. Many children who knew her have bookshelves stocked with books from their “Aunt Judy.”

She loved widely and deeply, taking care of her schoolchildren, her own children, her mother, her husband, and her grandchildren.

Judy was predeceased by her parents Anne and Handley Brown, husband Winston, daughter Clarissa Cunningham, and great niece Keira Miller. She is survived by daughter Grace Cannon (Robert) of Washington, DC, grandchildren Austin and Alyssa, brother Bill Brown of Florida, son of the heart Mark Price (Amanda), as well as nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who are like family.

The service will be on Saturday, September 9 at 1:30 pm at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 4882 Lavista Road, Tucker, GA 30084, where Judy was a member. Following the service, the interment will be at Floral Hills Memory Garden, followed by a reception at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to a charity supporting children’s education and literacy, or a local dance organization.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.floralhillsfuneral.com for the Cunningham family.