Frances Marie Cunningham
Cunningham
Frances Marie Cunningham, daughter of French Calhoun and Gladys Appleton, passed away surrounded by family at her home on June 8, 2026 following a brief illness. She was 97 years old.
She is survived by her children, Sue Rager, Richard Cunningham (Kathie), Jim Cunningham (Dena), Sharon Cunningham, Kitty Furman (Tom), and Carrie Cunningham (Lana); her daughter-in-law, Joyce Cunningham, six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Gladys, Lois, and Garnette, her husband Beryl, her son Michael E., and her grandson Patrick.
Frances was born in 1929 at her home on 37th Street and grew up in North Parkersburg. As a child, she enjoyed piano lessons and, at age 14, worked as a soda jerk serving up milkshakes and sodas at the drugstore after school. After graduating from Parkersburg High School in 1947 and Saint Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1950, she was a nurse for several years in St. Petersburg, FL, and Parkersburg.
In 1952, she married Beryl, her husband of 42 years, and together they raised seven children. She was a lifelong member of Phelps Memorial and Stout Memorial United Methodist Church, where her grandmother and aunt taught Sunday school nearly a century ago. She recalled helping her aunt trim the crusts from the communion bread as a child. Once grown, she enjoyed singing in the choir, playing in the handbell choir, UMW, and serving on church committees over the years.
Frances had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. She was kind, generous, sang every day, and knew an amazing number of songs. After retirement, she enjoyed traveling with Elderhostel, going to concerts around town, painting, sewing, and gardening. She had a variety of interests, from beekeeping to genealogy, and was active in Homemakers and the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society for many years.
For more than 30 years, she spent weekends at the family’s Christmas tree farm outside town, gardening and trimming trees. More recently, she enjoyed connecting online with her cousins in England after having visited and corresponded with them regularly for many years. She will be deeply missed by family, friends, and loved ones, and will be lovingly remembered by all whose lives she touched.
Visitation will be on Thursday, June 11 from 5-7 PM at Leavitt Funeral Home of Parkersburg.
The funeral service will take place on Friday, June 12 at 11:00 AM at Stout Memorial United Methodist Church, 3329 Broad Street, Parkersburg, WV, with burial to follow at Mt. Olivet.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library, 3100 Emerson Ave., Parkersburg, WV 26104, Stout Memorial United Methodist Church, 3329 Broad St, Parkersburg, WV 26104, or Old Man Rivers mission at omrwv.org