William Russell Cunningham

William Cunningham, who always went by "Bill", was born in 1928 in Union City, Tennessee. He grew up on a small family farm, the 4th child of 5 boys and 2 girls. He worked on the farm which included driving mules, driving a John Deere tractor, taking care of livestock and a small orchard. He also worked in his father's auto shop using precision tooling equipment to repair engines during WWII.

He had an early interest in aviation, the boy scouts, short wave radio, writing, and a love of football. He was on the track and football teams at Union City High School and joined the United States Marine Corps along with 5 of his friends after graduating in 1946. He served at the USMC Air Station at Cherry Point, North Carolina working as a mechanic on the Vought F4U Corsair aircraft. Afterward, he used the GI Bill to attend the Milwaukee School of Engineering. While in Milwaukee, he met Joy Gammelgard; they married in Union City and moved to Houston, TX for William to attend the University of Houston.

William began working for IBM in Memphis, TN in 1955. While working in Memphis, he introduced the FAA to the idea of using computers to track commercial aircraft. At that time, the FAA used a board with model planes to approximate their expected positions. The FAA quickly incorporated the use of computers which greatly contributed to airline safety.

William and Joy had two sons, Barry and Peter. William was a Deacon at his church in Memphis and a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts. In 1975, William transferred to Research Triangle Park in North Carolina to finish his career with IBM as a Technical Writer. After retirement, William and Joy traveled to Europe a number of times, especially to Scotland and Norway. William spent much of his time researching family history. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, a group consisting of descendants of those who fought in the American Revolution.

Sadly, Bill passed away on March 18, 2018. His sons, Susan (daughter-in-law), Eric and Lauren and Andrew (grandchildren), will enjoy many fond memories of 'Papa'. He will be greatly missed by all of his family as he was a very beloved, kind and generous father and grandfather.