Susan Cunningham Jonas

Susan Eileen Cunningham Jonas was born on January 5, 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio and departed this life surrounded by family on December 31, 2024. She was the daughter of James and Mary Cunningham and was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Susan was a proud graduate of Davidson College, class of 1977, the first fully co-educational class at the previously all-male school. She received degrees from Wake Forest University School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center and worked as a tax attorney for several years.

After her first diagnosis of cancer in 1991, Susan decided to stay home and raise her family full-time. She became a community volunteer, taught English as a Second Language and worked in several different libraries including as a docent for the Folger Shakespeare Library. She served on the boards of New Hope Housing and the Davidson College Alumni Association. Her favorite volunteer activity was serving Burgundy Farm Country Day School, where her children went to school for 16 years and her daughter Emily is now a teacher. She served on the Board of Trustees as well as president of the board from 1997-2001.

Susan was an avid reader. She loved British novels, the Washington Post and her book club. She also enjoyed bird watching, skiing and traveling with her family. Her favorite road trip was driving across the country from California through the American Southwest to Virginia with her son, Chris. Susan was a part-time pilgrim and loved to explore spiritual places looking for signs of the feminine face of God. She traveled to Chimayo, Mont Saint-Michel, Conques, Rocamadour, Croagh Patrick, Rome, Florence, Assisi, Lourdes, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and many other holy places. Her most significant pilgrimage was walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela with her daughter, Maeba.

Susan loved being the kinkeeper of the family, working to keep multiple generations, spread across many states, connected and loved. Susan also had wonderful friends, many of whom she made while her children were little and stayed close to for the remainder of her life.

She is survived by her mother, Mary Glenn Cunningham, her devoted husband of 44 years, Wayne Boice Jonas, her children, Christopher Cunningham Jonas (Marzia Motta), Mary Elizabeth Jonas (Kevin Taylor), and Emily Boice Jonas, her brothers Timothy James Cunningham (Nancy), Richard Glenn Cunningham (Lisa), her sister Patricia Cunningham Pascatore (Stephen), many cousins, nieces and nephews, as well as two grandsons, Aiden Debbia Jonas and Bodhi Price Taylor and one granddaughter, Thea Susan Eileen Taylor. She will be missed by all who loved her.

A memorial service will be held at Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria, Virginia on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (ocrahope.org) or to Burgundy Farm Country Day School (burgundyfarm.org) in Susan’s memory.