Joseph A. Cunningham

Joseph A. Cunningham was the son of Joseph S. and Catherine Cunningham and brother to William Cunningham and Mary Cora Velky. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and remained a lifelong Washingtonian. At the age of 18, Joe was drafted into the US Army and sent to Death Valley where he was trained for dessert combat in North Africa. As the D-day plans were underway, however, he was sent to England to prepare for the Normandy invasion. On that fateful day in 1944, Joseph was loaded onto an amphibious vessel and spent a day waiting in the British Channel until his unit landed on Utah Beach. He experienced the first of many harrowing battles that liberated the European Continent from the Axis powers in WWll. With the victory of the Allied forces, Joe was discharged after 310 days of continuous combat to return home where he began work for the Veteran's Administration. Soon after returning to civilian life, Joe met and fell in love with a beautiful woman named Evelyn Farrell. The two were married in November 1946. Their first child, Allie, was born in 1948. With a growing family, Joe began his apprenticeship as an electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26. His second son, Robert was born in 1955. Soon followed were his first daughter, Paula (1958), then a son Mark (1960), a second daughter, Mary Beth (1962) and his youngest child, John (1965). Joe and Evelyn raised their family in Cheverly, Maryland where they were faithful parishioners of St. Ambrose Catholic Church. As a resident of Cheverly, Joe coached youth sports and helped in the construction of community projects. If there is one way to best describe Joe, it would be as a hard worker. Even after retiring in 1987, Joe continued working part time for Prince George's County as a wage certification officer. He also remained an active member of his Local. In addition, he attended the University of Maryland for 2 years studying horticulture. Joe and Evelyn loved traveling and with retirement were able to travel the globe, visiting such places as Alaska (4 times), several countries in Europe and the Middle East. They also made yearly visits to Evelyn's home state of Iowa for the Old Thrashers Festival. In September of this year, on his last trip to Iowa, he said he had his best time ever when attending the Iowa Hawkeyes football game with his nieces Patty and Kari. Joe died quietly and peacefully without any fanfare as he lived his beautiful life. Joe's death showed us how natural, courageous and effortless it is to leave this earth and pass on into eternity. Above all, Joe was a faithful servant of the Lord who loved his wife of 65 years and his family. His kindness, patience, and quiet strength will be missed deeply but never forgotten.