Edward Lee Cunningham was born in Washington, DC on July 5, 1944 to the late Henry and Alice Cunningham. He was educated in the DC Public School System. He attended Payne Elementary, Elliot Jr. High, and received his diploma from Eastern Senior High School in 1962.
After high school, Edward worked for the U.S. Post Office as a mail carrier for a
year before enlisting in the United States Air Force. His ambition was to learn how to fly. He
was stationed at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas where he served
four years; and was honorably discharged in 1967.
Edward returned to DC and began working for his father’s painting business. While helping his father run his business, Edward attended the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), formerly known as Federal City College, where he pursued studies in Architecture and Design. Later he began working for Safeway Stores as a stock clerk. Over the years he was promoted to
the position of Head Night Stocker and supervised the night staff until he retired in 2010. After retiring from Safeway, he started his own construction business, Cunningham Services, LLC. Under Cunningham Services, LLC, he continued to pursue his love for architecture by specializing in small construction and renovation projects. Over the years, Edward completed numerous projects including several renovations. His most treasured project, spanning several years, was the total renovation and conversion of an early 1900’s row house in Northwest DC into 2, two-story flats- affectionately known as The Lily.
In his spare time, Edward enjoyed two things most: raising and taking care of his Japanese Koi fish and horse racing. For over 20 yrs, he attended Koi shows,visited area koi farms, and raised countless fish in his 5,000-gallon pond he built in his backyard. Second to none, however, was his love for horse racing! He loved to handicap the horses that ran daily at the Laurel and
Bowie racetracks. He would study the past performances of the horses from the
Daily Horse Racing Form, and then go to the track to test his handicapping skills by
betting on his picks. As a personal tradition, Edward attended the races every Thanksgiving Day- with a pie in tow- before joining family for dinner. Although Edward greatly enjoyed both of his hobbies, what he loved most was to enjoy a good meal surrounded by family!
On Wednesday, December 9, 2020 Edward Lee Cunningham passed away
peacefully after a long battle with Leukemia. He is survived by his beloved wife,
Terri (Juliette), Son, Andre; Daughter, Candace; Brother, James; Sister, Marjorie; along with grandsons Tavis, Tylan, and Kaizen; and great granddaughter, Lyric- including a host of relatives and friends.
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