David Cunningham

David Lee Cunningham passed away on Saturday, September 30, 2023, due to complications from Alzheimer’s.

David, also known as Dave, was born May 11, 1937 in Bell, California, to Lewis and Lula Mae (Edwards) Cunningham. He spent most of his childhood and early adulthood in Southern California, graduating from South Gate High School in 1955. He went on to earn his Bachelor's of Theology from LIFE Bible College, where he was a member of The Churchmen, a traveling singing group he spoke of fondly throughout his life. David ultimately decided not to pursue the ministry and instead attended Pasadena City College and then California State College at Los Angeles, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1965.

He married Judy Ferguson in 1963, ultimately settling in Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley. They had two children, Chris, born in 1967, and Dana, born in 1970. David taught art and ceramics at North Hollywood High School for 9 years in the late 60s and early 70s before quitting teaching to sell his own ceramic artwork at art shows throughout California.

David spent the 1980s helping to raise his children, working on a long-term home construction project, pursuing his own artwork, and doing graphic design work for Pacific Fine Arts, the family’s fine art festival business. He and Judy divorced in the early 90s, and David moved to Missouri to be close to his sister Margaret and family from his mother’s side. From the early 2000s through 2022, David lived on the East Coast, first in Pennsylvania and then in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he could be near his two children, their spouses, and his three grandchildren, whom he adored. He loved going to art museums, drinking Dr. Pepper, watching old movies, and playing Spite & Malice with his family--he didn’t care how many times he lost, the act of just playing was good enough for him. In the final months of his life, David moved to Beaufort, South Carolina, to be near Dana in her new home. He died there on Saturday, September 30th, with Chris and Dana at his side.

Brilliant and creative. Prodigiously talented. Irascible and volatile. Kind, generous, sensitive. An artist and craftsman and deep thinker, he could do almost anything he set his mind to--home construction and remodeling, furniture design and fabrication, landscape design, automotive repair, any kind of art or craft, pursuing an idea or intellectual problem to its depths. But ordinary, day-to-day life was difficult for him, not something he ever got good at, struggling with demons of doubt and perfectionism and a self-imposed solitude he hated but couldn’t figure out how to change. David continued to imagine a different, better life for himself up to the very end, making lists of things to do to be healthy and happy, and of the art projects he planned to start. Not today, but tomorrow, next week, soon.

He was loved, and he will be missed.

David is survived by his sister Margaret Smith, his two children Chris (wife Helena) and Dana Bacher (husband Ken), three grandchildren, Libby Cunningham, Katie Bacher, and Ben Cunningham; and his ex-wife Judy.

During David’s final months, he enjoyed participating in the programs offered by Alzheimer’s Family Services of Greater Beaufort. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to this outstanding organization as they work to bring joy, companionship, and much needed support to families suffering from this terrible disease. Here is a link to their website: http://afsgb.org/