Juanita Cunningham's Obituary
On Friday, May 13, at 10:00 A.M., family and friends will gather at Christian Care Center Memorial Auditorium, Mesquite, TX, to celebrate the life of Juanita Cleek Cunningham. She will then be laid to rest at Restland Cemetery, Dallas, TX, beside her husband, A. Hugh Cunningham, whom she married March 27, 1954. He preceded her in death on June 19, 2012. Born in Halls, TN, June 17, 1935, to Thomas Walker (T.W.) Cleek, Jr, and Naomi Simmons Cleek, she died Saturday, May 7, 2016, in Mesquite, TX. She graduated from Foreman High School, Foreman, AR, as salutatorian of the class of 1953. She then received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern State College (now Southern State University) in Magnolia, AR, followed by a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, in 1957. She spent 35 years teaching Language Arts in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, retiring in December 1993 after teaching 28 years at Bryan Adams High School, Dallas, TX. She was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ, attending White Rock Church of Christ and Highland Oaks Church of Christ in Dallas and, in her later years, Christian Care Center Church of Christ. She loved furry little animals, flowers, antiques and the color purple. Visitation for friends and family will be Thursday evening, May 12, from 6:00 to 8:00, at Restland Funeral Home, Dallas, TX. There will also be open visitation Friday morning 9:00-10:00, at the CCC Memorial Auditorium. Besides her husband, she is also preceded in death by her parents; her only sibling, Thomas Simmons Cleek, and a niece, Kellyne Cleek. Survivors include 2 sons, Alan Cunningham, wife Tammy, and grandsons Kyle and Adam Cunningham of Garland, TX, and Scott Cunningham, Dallas, TX; sisters-in-laws Mary Helen Morris, Dallas, TX, and Doris Cleek, West Fork, AR; 4 nephews; and many cousins and friends. George Baker, Highland Oaks Minister of Concern and Ray Hunter, Minister of Christian Care Center Church of Christ, will officiate. Memorial contributions may be made to A. Hugh and Juanita C. Cunningham Endowment, Heritage Christian University, P.O. Box HCU, Florence, AL 35630; Caring & Sharing Ministry, Highland Oaks Church of Christ; or the SPCA. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted into Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75243.
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