Janet Louise T. Cunningham's Obituary
Janet Louise T Cunningham, affectionately known as “Sugawooga,” passed away on July 13, 2021 after a long fight with cerebellar ataxia and a Parkinson’s-related condition. She was born on June 13, 1947, in Lynwood, California at St. Frances Memorial Hospital to the late W.T. and Harriett Turner. Janet was the eldest of five children: sisters Rose (preceded in death), Warraine, and Adrienne, and one brother, Wayne. At an early age, Janet developed a life-long passion for learning. She was a graduate of John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the University of California at Long Beach.
In 1972, Janet married Gerald Cunningham. To their union was born two children, Brittany and Phillip, who they loved dearly. During their twenty-two years of marriage, they resided in Phoenix, AZ, Pittsburgh, PA, Las Vegas, NV, and Brea, CA. In 1987, the family relocated to Texas and made the DFW Metroplex home.
There were three constants in Janet’s life: her love of God, her children, and her passionate desire to educate and mentor children and young adults. Having received Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior, Janet was an active church member no matter where she lived. She regularly attended Friendship West Baptist Church, in Dallas, TX until medical conditions made it difficult to go to services. While residing at Accel at Willow Bend, she valued every opportunity to fellowship with volunteers from Prestonwood Baptist Church and would participate in person when she was able.
Janet had a distinguished career as a special education and English teacher, working for Scottsdale (AZ) Independent School District (“ISD”), Pittsburgh Public Schools (PA), Las Vegas ISD (NV), Orange County ISD (CA), and Plano ISD (TX). In 2013, Janet retired from Hillcrest High School, Dallas ISD. Her tremendous desire to ensure all children, especially those from marginalized populations, had the skills needed to successfully transition to kindergarten and beyond led her to own and actively operate two day-care centers in Denton, TX: Young Scholars I and II in the 1990’s.
For Janet, the commitment to service extended beyond the traditional classroom. Janet was an active member of civic organizations such as Jack and Jill of America. In 1975, she was initiated into the Delta Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and was proud that her daughter became a member of the Sorority twenty years later.
To know Janet was to love her. Janet’s loving nature, warm spirit and genuine kindness were infectious. She never knew a stranger and was impeccable with her word. Janet felt everyone deserved the very best in life and would do anything in her power to ensure people were better off after knowing her. Her legacy and inspiration will live on in the hearts, souls, and minds of every human she touched and interacted with.
Janet Louise T Cunningham leaves to celebrate her life and legacy daughter Brittany Cunningham (Everett), son Phillip Cunningham (Jennifer), sisters Warraine Baker and Adrienne Turner, brother Wayne Turner (Hazel), granddaughter Isabella Paige Cunningham, grandson John Phillip Cunningham, nieces Ieesha Cannida (James), Jamilia Williams, Javon Coye (Christian), Dana Golleher (Matthew), and Celeste Turner, nephews Jassonn Williams (Valerie), Jamal Williams, Troy Darrell, William Turner, and Rashid Baker, and a host of family, surrogate family members, and friends.
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