Margaret "Peggy" F. Cunningham

After a long illness, Margaret "Peggy" F. Cunningham (McKenna), a longtime resident of Hanson, passed away on November 5th at age 88. She was born in Malden to Edwin and Alice McKenna. Peggy is survived by sons David Cunningham and his wife, Pamela Cunningham, and Mark Cunningham and his partner, Regina Harianto. She is also survived by her sister, Mary Lou Riley and her husband, John Riley, grandchildren, Kelsey Gavin and her husband, Matthew Gavin, Sean Cunningham and his wife, Lisa Cunningham, and Evan Cunningham, great grandchildren, Wesley Gavin and Maeve Gavin, former daughter in law Christina Cunningham, nephews, nieces, other extended family and a host of friends.

As a young girl, Peggy attended school at the Immaculate Conception School in Malden and graduated from Girls Catholic in Malden in 1953. Although she was a good student, Peggy and a few friends were not above skipping school to attend Red Sox games during high school. In fact, she and a few of her friends spent enough time at Fenway Park to befriend Red Sox legend, Johnny Pesky. She also enjoyed many trips to Nahant to visit with a former neighbor and lifelong friend. 

Peggy and her then husband (Henry Cunningham) moved their young family from Malden to Brockton in 1962 to live in the newly established Ashfield neighborhood. During her relatively short time in Brockton, Peggy made many friends, became involved with the newly established Saint Nicholas Church and resumed her education at Boston State College. When she graduated from Boston State in 1972, Peggy became the first member of her immediate family to graduate from college. Shortly thereafter, she began a 25 year career as a teacher in Brockton. She taught at both the elementary level as well as kindergarten. The bulk of her career was at the Ashfield School where she became colleagues with some of the same teachers who taught her two sons. She took great pleasure in helping children with reading and introducing them to the world of music.

Peggy and her family moved to Hanson in 1973 to the recently established Brentwood neighborhood. Although she started off as a city girl and loved Boston her whole life, Peggy also loved the trees and the country setting of Hanson. She also enjoyed easy access to Cranberry Cove and the ocean beaches of the South Shore.  

Peggy loved to travel. She took multiple trips to Europe, Canada and many parts of the United States. One of the trips brought her and her sister to their father’s childhood home on Prince Edward Island in Canada. She was a life-long learner who took many courses toward a Master’s Degree and many adult education courses during retirement. She was active with two book clubs, the Red Hat Society, South Shore Singles and the Kennedy Library. She regularly attended concerts by the Brockton Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops.

Above all else, Peggy loved the people in her life. She served as a matriarch of her family for many years and kept people in the know about each other while they were off leading busy lives. As a senior citizen, she went out of her way to maintain contact with friends, often by cards and long telephone conversations. While she was still healthy, she gave companionship and gratefully received companionship. She was a proud, independent, woman who helped break barriers. She also cherished the freedoms that others before her worked so hard to achieve.

Arrangements are with the Sullivan Funeral Home in Hanover, MA on November 19. There will be a short Visitation at 2:00 p.m. followed by a Prayer Service at 3:00 p.m.    

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peggy’s memory to the Jane Gadaire Memorial Scholarship, Brockton Public Schools, 43 Crescent Street, Brockton, MA  02301, attention Juli Caldwell, or, to the Brockton Education Association Genevieve F. Burns Scholarship, BEA Office, 410 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA  02301, attention Scholarship Committee.