Patricia Webster Cunningham

Patricia Webster Cunningham died 3/2/2018 in an Austin nursing home after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Dementia. Patricia was born in Coalfield (Morgan County), TN on May 21, 1936. She was the eighth child of ten children by parents Paris G. Webster and Linnie Myrtle Hill. Patricia is survived by her husband, Edward F. Cunningham, daughter Cynthia Cunningham-Piper of Buda, TX; son David Cunningham of Houston; three grand-daughters; three great grand-sons; a sister Elizabeth Anne Charamella of East Lansing, MI.

After graduating high school in Coalfield where she excelled in academics as well as extra-curricular activities (band, drum major, election to Girls’ State) , Patricia attended college in Berea, KY, the University of Tennessee Knoxville, the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) where she earned a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education and a M.A. Degree in Elementary Education-Cognate Reading. As a graduate student at UAB she was a member of Kappa Delta Pi, an International Honor Society in Education.

While attending the University of Tennessee, Patricia met her husband, Edward Cunningham, an Engineering Student. They were married off-campus in 1958 upon Edward’s graduation. They then moved to Birmingham, AL, where Edward took up his first engineering job and Patricia took up house-keeping.

While in Birmingham, Edward entered Military Service for a short period of active duty before returning home to reserve status and a resumption of civilian employment. The “home-coming” coincided with the celebration of the birth of the first child, Cynthia. Then the “couple plus one” moved to Pennsylvania as a result of the husband’s job transfer. There during several more job-transfer moves within the state, a second child, David, was born. Following David’s birth, Patricia and family moved back to Birmingham (another job transfer), where Patricia resumed her college education, continued raising a family and started a teaching career that spanned over thirty years.

Patricia’s first teaching position was in Birmingham at the Advent Episcopal Day School. She started out as an Aid and then after earning a B.S. Degree (later an M.A. Degree), was assigned a 1st grade teaching position. While still living in Birmingham, Patricia went on to accept teaching positions at Vestavia Hills Elementary. In 1981 Patricia’s husband accepted a position with a new company in Houston, TX. On moving to Houston Patricia took a teaching position for two years at Webster Primary in the Clear Creek ISD. In 1983 husband Edward’s employer offered him a Plant Manager position at a new plant in Central Texas. This new position was accepted, and the family moved to Limestone County to a newly built home about half-way between the cities of Mexia and Groesbeck, TX. There Patricia resumed her teaching career as a First Grade Teacher in the Groesbeck ISD. There she retired in 1999, after 17 years of service at that location.

While living in Limestone County Patricia and husband were socially active in numerous organizations in and around Mexia, TX. They joined the First United Methodist and were active in several ministries of the church included singing in the choir for many years. Patricia became active in several local civic/social organizations including Friday Club, The Mexia Garden Club, the local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma International (a society that promotes professional and personal growth of women educators) and of which Patricia served as president for a term.