Cornelius A Cunningham Jr.

It is with deep sorrow and profound respect that we remember Cornelius A. Cunningham, Jr who passed away on May 31, 2025 in West Chester, Ohio.

Cornelius “Neil” Anthony Cunningham was born in Boston, MA in January 1935. He was born into a world vastly different from the one that we know and, in his life, contributed to innovations in technology that helped shape the world in which we live. These ranged from historic (his contributions to the Apollo space program and improvements in medical technology) to the essentials of everyday living that we tend to take for granted (anything from band aids to pajamas). In fact, anyone accompanying him on a shopping trip in his later years would be familiar with his refrain (“You know who invented that, don’t you?”) as they reached for a product to place in their shopping cart.

Neil was the oldest of three children and, as such, accumulated an impressive list of “firsts” within his family. He was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college, the first to serve in the military, and the first to carve out a career in science and technology. He was, in many ways, a trailblazer, constantly moving into fields of endeavor in which he (and, in truth, few others) had any experience. While he began his career in the field of paper and textile technology, he eventually cultivated expertise in product safety and environmental law. This led to his becoming a nationwide expert in fire safety and environmental law and regulation and eventually assuming responsibility for ensuring his employer’s compliance with international statutes and regulations governing environmental safety.

Neil possessed a keen mind combined with eclectic interests. He excelled as a track and field athlete in high school while also dabbling in art (he had a talent for drawing and painting), singing and even dancing. He maintained a lifelong passion for history and literature and will be remembered by his family and friends as a master storyteller with a keen sense of humor. Listeners to his stories could be pardoned for coming away with the impression that he encountered every significant figure of the latter half of the twentieth century. While this may be a bit of an exaggeration, it is one that Neil would embrace with a good laugh.

In 1953, Neil met the love of his life, Barbara (nee Gilmore). While their courtship was interrupted by his military service, they married upon his return from overseas. It was a marriage that would endure for 66 years until Barbara’s death in 2023. Together, they raised a family of six children, instilling in them the values of love, commitment, hard work, a respect for learning, and the belief that life should be lived with a healthy sense of humor. To the very end of his life, Neil was immensely proud of his children’s accomplishments, seeing that all of them followed his path in higher education and graduated college. More importantly, he was proud that they are all happily married with families of their own.

Neil is survived by his daughters Kathleen Graf, Carol Payne, and Anne Schoonover, and his sons Kevin, Michael, and John and their spouses, as well as 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.