Earl Wayne Cunningham
Earl Wayne Cunningham was born on May 13, 1912 in the Oak Grove community of Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the sixth of seven children born to Elmer Ellsworth “Ell” Cunningham and Rosa Lee Bridges Cunningham. Ell was a farmer and had served as a magistrate for the Maple Grove community and Rosa was a homemaker. Both were natives of Trigg County. Rosa was a descendant of Cullen Bridges and Cullen Thomas.
Earl’s siblings were Myrtle Mabel Cunningham, born in 1898 and married Burnett Finley; Olive James “Ollie” Cunningham, born in 1900, and married Lillie Roberta Williams; George Clyde Cunningham, born in 1904 and married Robbie Bell Bridges; Carmon Aubrey Cunningham, born in 1907 and married Ora Noel and later married Belvie Ricks Dixon; Maureen Ell Cunningham, born in 1909 and married Grover Douglas “Bubby” Creamer; and Ivy Mavis Cunningham, born in 1915 and married Robert “Jack” Rowen, Jr.
Earl attended elementary schools at the Canton School and the Blue Spring School. He was popular as he was one of the few young men who lived in a rural area and owned a bicycle.
On November 23, 1935, Earl married Lois Velma Page with Judge J. L. Blakeley officiating the ceremony in Cadiz. Velma was born March 18, 1918 in Model, Tennessee. She was the daughter of , John Ross Page and Maudie Ann Bircham Page. John had served as postmaster in Canton, Kentucky and was a native of Trigg County. Maudie was a native of Thebes, Illinois.
When Earl left elementary school he worked on his father’s farm in the Maple Grove community, a farm that he would later purchase. He also worked for construction and maintenance of Trigg County roads and bridges. In 1949 Earl was elected as a magistrate for the county’s second district and held that position for one term. In 1954 the family relocated to Hazel Park, Michigan where Earl worked with the Chevrolet Division of General Motors. He retired from General Motors in 1981.
Earl and Velma were the parents of six sons, Earl Eugene Cunningham, born in 1937 and married Nola Jean Townsend; Darryl Page Cunningham, born in 1939 and married Joyce Loretta Pitt; Ronald Keith Cunningham, born in 1941 and married Gale Harren Burkeen and later married Alana Dawn Cornelius Sabatine; Gerald Lane Cunningham, born in 1943 and married Virginia Ruth McTaggart; Larry Louis Cunningham, born in1946 and married Sandra Elaine Roose; and Jeffery Clark Cunningham, born in 1961 and married Sheri Lynne Amici.
Earl died on January 8, 1996 at the age of 83 at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Clinton Township, Michigan. His body was brought back to Cadiz where he was buried in the East End Cemetery. Velma died on July 26, 2004 at the age of 86 in the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. Her body was also brought back to Kentucky and she was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County.
Velma Page Cunningham
Earl tombstone
Velma tombstone
LINEAGE: (Earl Wayne Cunningham was the son of Elmer Ellsworth “Ell” and Rosa Lee Bridges Cunningham. Rosa was the seventh child of Cullen T. and 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. Virginia 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.)