Charles "Chuck" Cunningham, 81, of Port Charlotte, Florida, passed away January 15, 2019. He was born in Studley, Kansas, on August 24, 1937, to Charles and Lella Cunningham. Chuck grew up and went to school in Oakley, Kansas.
In May, 1955, he registered with the Navy. He was at Great Lakes Naval Academy and was then sent over sees to Hawaii (Hawaii was not a state at the time), where he served as a Corpsman stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay.
On September 6, 1958, Chuck married Arlene Listak at Zion Lutheran Church in Hinsdale, Illinois. They were married for 60 years.
Chuck had a dedicated work ethic. During his life he worked 5 different jobs starting with working in a bakery in Oakley, Kansas, when he was 9 years old. Once he was married, he worked 3 jobs to help support his family. One with Wannamakers Home and Garden, another with Standard Gas Station, and the third and longest at 32 years, with Hinsdale Sanitarium and Hospital as their Chief Groundskeeper. Chuck also worked for Mid-America Federal in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, before retiring.
He was a recovered alcoholic, and he would drive a bus every Sunday morning for the patients to take them to their AA breakfast meetings as a way of giving back to the community and help him to continue to recover.
Chuck loved the beach and riding his bicycle. He would stop and talk to people along his routes and make many new friends.
He is survived by son Steve (Sandy), son Mike (Shannon), daughter Cheryl (David), step-grandchildren Dawn Vest, Mathew Staton, and Cheryl Easton. Grandchildren Lauren VanderWerf (Drew), Zach Cunningham, Sarah Cunningham, Christopher Stock, Holly Stock, and great-grandchild Harper VanderWerf.
A memorial service will be held in June on the beach on Sanibel Island.
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