Memorial Trees
L
Love, Barry & Gabriela Rava
August 05, 2024
K
Kotronis, Grecco, Gilbert Family
August 04, 2024
A
Anonymous
August 04, 2024
M
Michael Smith
August 03, 2024
Memorial trees planted for:
Mary Alice Cunningham
<p>Mary Alice VanDemark Cunningham died peacefully on August 1, 2024 at Our Lady of Consolation Nursing Home in West Islip, NY. She was 93 years old.</p><p><br></p><p>Born on March 20, 1931 at Kingston Hospital, NY to Delia Monroe and James H. VanDemark, third of four daughters, she grew up on a dairy farm in High Falls. Mary and her sisters attended a one-room schoolhouse for grade school in Stone Ridge and graduated Kingston High School in 1948. She attended Methodist Nursing School in Brooklyn and it was there that she met her soulmate, Thomas F. Cunningham, on a blind date. After graduation from nursing school, they married on October 13, 1951, bought a house in North Babylon, NY and raised a family, like so many of the WWII generation. Avid boaters, they later moved to Lindenhurst, NY on Canal St and lived there happily for over 40 years. </p><p><br></p><p>Mary was a caring nurse by disposition, gifted musician by nature, jokester by persona and volunteer by calling. She loved a good joke, devotedly played April Fool pranks annually, sang frequently and spontaneously, played piano by ear and worked hard to make her community a better place. She co-founded and ran the Professional Rehabilitation Association (PRA), which offered continuing education credits, collegiality and support for specialists caring for the injured. She co-founded St. Paul’s Reformed Church in North Babylon, was a respected Elder, and served on the senior governing body of the Dutch Reformed Church of America for many years. She volunteered in many community capacities, but largely in the caregiving arena and through her church. Mary was adventurous, sang Karaoke at a local bar late into her 80s, had a romantic’s view of the world, and a great sense of fun. She was easy to talk to, interested in people, wrote poetry and was a generous and enthusiastic hostess. She loved a good party, traveling abroad and visiting with her family and friends. She will be sorely missed.</p><p><br></p><p>She is survived by her sister, Renée VanDemark Miller; her children: Kathleen Cunningham of East Hampton, Mary Ellen and Thomas F. Cunningham of Lindenhurst, Georgia and Michael Cunningham of Westhampton; 6 grandchildren and their spouses; 12 great-grandchildren; many beloved nieces and nephews and faithful friends since toddler-hood, Grace Terwilliger and Beverly Teft. </p><p><br></p><p>Donations can be made in lieu of flowers to St. Paul’s Reformed Church, North Babylon, NY 11703: <a href="https://labunern.wixsite.com/stpaulsreformed/northbabylonfoodpantry" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://labunern.wixsite.com/stpaulsreformed/northbabylonfoodpantry</a></p><p><br></p><p>Please make all donations made out to "St. Paul’s Reformed Church" and to the following address below.</p>March 20, 1931 - August 1, 202403/20/193108/01/2024
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