Rita Wayco Cunningham

Rita Wayco Cunningham, age 63 of Pensacola Beach, Florida, formerly of Atlanta, Georgia, died peacefully surrounded by family and friends on November 18, 2017 after a courageous battle with a rare form pancreatic cancer. Rita was diagnosed at Stage 4 at the end of January 2017. She was inoperable, but for a miracle -- that's when she began her journey to fight the storm. Rita opted for the most aggressive chemotherapy treatment -- she wanted to live every day possible. During this storm, she shared more than once that she never knew she was so loved and it brought her happiness to see good in the world. She had an incredible group of prayer warriors that lifted her up. From the outset of this storm, she said, the devil whispered in her ear there is a storm coming and she whispered back - I am the storm. And she was. Rita was vibrant and eager to embrace life to the fullest. After 37 years with the Federal Government, in her retirement on the beach, she enjoyed walking on the beach and all over Pensacola, playing tennis for hours, fishing, and spending time with friends and family. Rita was a mother, wife, sister, and friend to many. Rita's motto was to make three people smile a day and was an endless giver of hugs. Rita, selfless with infinite love, always put her daughter, husband, and family first. Rita is preceded in death by her mother and father Mary and Loyd Brookshire. In addition to her husband, Ray Cunningham, she is survived by her daughter, Stefanie Wayco, three brothers, and a legion of adoring friends. Memorial services were held at 2PM at Pensacola Beach Church, where Rita was a member, on November 21, 2017. To honor Rita's life and legacy, the family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her memory to Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, an organization dear to Rita. As a pancreatic cancer survivor, she cut the ribbon on the Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Walk in April 2017 in NYC.

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