Mary Maree Cunningham, age 98, of Bradner, Ohio passed away peacefully on Monday, October 2, 2023, at Independence House Nursing Home in Fostoria. She was born on September 20, 1925, to the late John H. & Nina (Yambert) Moor.
Mary was a 1943 graduate of Risingsun High School where she graduated Valedictorian in her class, and then attended Tiffin Business School. She married Edwin Doan “Bud” Cunningham, her high school sweetheart, on June 9, 1946. They began their life on a farm near her parents, near Bradner, Ohio. She and Bud were married for 47 years. During those first years she devoted her time to being a housewife, supporting her family, particularly in raising their four sons.
In 1973 the family moved to Englewood, Florida to be near to her parents and to help care for her mother-in-law.
Mary had a passion and a gift for cooking/baking. While living in Englewood, she used these gifts working as a Baker/Cook in a local school. In 1993, her husband Bud passed away suddenly of a heart attack. In 1995, with her parents, husband, and mother-in-law all deceased, Mary moved back to Ohio to help her sister-in-law care for her brother Edmund during his final illness. She spent the rest of her life living near the farm where she had grown up.
Mary was an accomplished seamstress, and had created her own wedding dress. She had a love for flowers, dogs and wild birds, likely another expression of a life spent caring for others. She loved spending her time outdoors, and when her health no longer permitted going outside, sitting next to her large windows, watching the birds and animals that passed through her property.
Surviving Mary are her sons, Chris (Joan) Cunningham of Owasso, Oklahoma; Mickey (Sonja) Cunningham of Risingsun; John Cunningham of Bradner; David Cunningham of Bradner; sister-in-law, Barbara Moor of Bradner; grandsons, Matt (Ellen) Cunningham and Aaron (Amber) Cunningham; great-grandsons, Avery & Asher. She was preceded in death by her parents, John & Nina; her loving husband, Bud; and her brother, Edmund Moor.
All arrangements have been entrusted to Barndt Funeral Home in Wayne, Ohio. A private interment will take place at Graham Cemetery, Wayne, Ohio. Memorials may be made to Cherry Street Mission, Toledo, Ohio, or to the charity of choice. Online condolences can be sent to Mary’s family at www.barndtfuneralhome.org.
