William James Cunningham

William James Cunningham, 84, of Newington, passed away on January 10, 2018, following an extended, valiant battle with multiple illnesses. Bill was born in Hartford on September 20, 1933, the son of Gertrude Quigley Cunningham, a professional musician, and John Sinclair Cunningham, a purchasing agent. He attended St. Augustine’s School and graduated in 1952 from Bulkeley High School before proudly serving for two years in Korea as a high-speed radio operator with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Returning to Hartford, he met Ninette Gionfriddo, with whom he would embark on a 59-year marriage in 1958. Soon after, he followed in his father’s footsteps as a purchasing agent, taking a job with Tracy, Robinson, & Williams Industrial Supply Company. He would remain there for nearly four decades, retiring in 1995. Throughout, he was an avid local sports fan, following in different eras the Hartford Chiefs (for whom he had moved the batting cage and worked the scoreboard as a teen), the Hartford Knights, and his beloved UConn Huskies. Bill was a longtime Whalers season ticket holder, and a member of the 91 Club in the late 1970s. In later years, he and Ninette took great pleasure in their extensive travels throughout the U.S. and abroad, and all who knew him appreciated his sense of humor and enthusiastic views on world events. Bill was predeceased by his parents, and his brothers Jack and Jerry. He is survived by his wife and best friend, Ninette of Newington; son David, daughter-in-law Sarah, and grandchildren Andrew and Charlotte, all of St. Louis, Missouri; sister Mary Jane Cunningham and her partner Joan Thomson, both of Pompano Beach, Florida; sisters-in-law Katherine Cunningham of East Hartford and Maria Gionfriddo of West Hartford; and ten nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday (January 15) at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Holy Spirit, 183 Church St., Newington. Everyone is asked to please go directly to the church. Burial with military honors will follow in Rose Hill Memorial Park, Rocky Hill. Family and friends are invited to visiting hours on Sunday from 2-5 p.m. at the D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield. Donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the Newington VFW, 85 Kitts Lane, Newington, CT 06111. To share a memory of Bill with his family, please visit www.desopo.com.