William Herbert Cunningham -- Engineering Designer

 

 William Herbert Cunningham

William Herbert Cunningham was born on January 17, 1930 in Cadiz, Kentucky.  He was the third of five children of Olive “Ollie” James Cunningham and Lily Roberta Williams Cunningham. Ollie was a barber and both he and Roberta were natives of Trigg County.  Herbert was a descendant of Cullen Bridges and Cullen Thomas.

Herbert’s siblings were James Arvin “Jimmie” Cunningham, born in 1926 and married Betty Jo Bridges; Thomas Elwood Cunningham, born in 1927 and married Frances Lucille Wesley; Patsy Louise Cunningham, born in 1935 and married Joe Morris Woosley; and Robert Glenn Cunningham, born in 1937 and married Linda Faye Pepper.

Herbert attended the elementary school in Cadiz and graduated from Trigg County High School in 1948. After his graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on August 3, 1948 and went through basic training at Great Lakes, Illinois. He was stationed aboard the USS Salisbury Sound from 1949 to 1952 during the Korean War which included three cruises to the Orient. He was stationed at the Millington Naval Air Station outside Memphis, Tennessee from 1952 to 1955 and was discharged from the service on April 15, 1955.

On June 18, 1953, he married Shirley Ann Strickland at the Macon Road Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee.  Shirley was born on March 3, 1935 and was a native of Memphis, Tennessee.  She was the daughter of Robert Merrill Strickland and Louise Ross Strickland.  Robert worked as a dairy routeman and was a native of Memphis, Tennessee. Louise was a native of Arkansas.

After leaving the military in 1955, Herbert and Shirley settled in Memphis where he accepted a position with the E. I du Pont de Nemours & Company (Dupont) in their Memphis plant.  While working he also attended classes at the University of Tennessee at Memphis and at Memphis State University and graduated from the William R. Moore School of Technology in Memphis.  He continued to work with Dupont until he retired in May 1985 as an engineering designer after over 30 years with the company.

Herbert and Shirley were the parents of four children, Pamela Louise Cunningham, born in 1954 and married Gerald Richard Owens, Jr. and then married a Mr. Stein; William Herbert Cunningham, born in 1958, and married Cathy Leigh Muffley and later married Alissa Michele Zarfoss; Michael Ross Cunningham, born in 1962 and married Teresa Jo Hall; and Chris Alan Cunningham, born in 1972 and married Wendy B. Langston.

Herbert died on December 6, 2000 at the age of 70 at the Methodist Healthcare-North Hospital in Memphis of heart failure.  He was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery East in Memphis.

 William tombstone

LINEAGE:  (William Herbert Cunningham was the son of Olive “Ollie” James and Lily Roberta Williams Cunningham.  Ollie was the second child of Elmer Ellsworth “Ell” and Rosa Lee Bridges Cunningham.  Rosa was the seventh child of Cullen T. and Martha Ann Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Martha Ann was the third child of Peyton and Sarah Ethridge Thomas.  Peyton was the third child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas. Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas. Lily Roberta Williams was the daughter of Thomas Green and Johnnie Vara Thomas Williams.  Johnnie was the third child of William Henry and Sidney Dyer Thomas.  William Henry was the third child of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas. Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)