Donald T. Cunningham
OBITUARY
Donald Cunningham, 80, longtime resident of Bethlehem, PA, died May 16 in Moravian Village, Bethlehem, after a two-month illness that began at his retirement community in Estero, Florida. The son of the late Robert F. and the late Grace (Eisenhart) Cunningham of Bethlehem, he was born March 31, 1946, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Fountain Hill, PA. He was the husband of the late Charlotte (Chuck) of Bethlehem, who died in 1980, and the late Valerie (Blieler) of Fogelsville, PA, who died last July. The couple were married for 42 years. They retired to Florida in 2014 where they were active residents of the Spring Run Golf Club Community. Raised in west Bethlehem, Donald was a 1964 graduate of Bethlehem Liberty High School, where he achieved all-state honorable mention as a lineman and linebacker on the football team. From high school, he went to work at Bethlehem Steel Corp., where he poured hot metal and built molds in the Ingot Mould Foundry for 31 years until the plant’s steelmaking operating ended in 1995. He then worked as a deputy sheriff for Northampton County, ultimately becoming a staff member to Judge Jack Panella, whom he followed to the Pennsylvania State Superior Court, from where he retired. Raised Roman Catholic, he was a member of Ss. Simon & Jude and Sacred Heart churches in Bethlehem. After marriage to Valerie, he became a member of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lower Nazareth Township, where he served as a eucharistic minister.
A natural athlete and competitor, he also wrestled and played baseball in his youth. As an adult, he played modified pitch softball for Ingot Mould in the Bethlehem Steel League, winning multiple championships, as he did as a racquetball player at Bethlehem Racquetball Club. He began golfing in retirement and shot two holes in one. He coached youth football for the Bethlehem Township Bulldogs, and baseball at Freemansburg Bethlehem Township Little League and Lehigh Little League, where he coached along with his son while his grandsons played. He often came out on top in his regular games of washers, quoits, bocci and horseshoes, but, more than anything, loved the camaraderie and time with friends and family.
People were his main interest. Instantly likable, he lived a judgement free zone, and was truly interested in everyone he met. One of six children, he had a large extended family, and family was his passion. He was a proud father of two and loving Pop and G Pop to six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The walls of his home were filled with photo collages of family, many taken at the couples’ former vacation home in Surf City, Long Beach Island, N.J.
SURVIVORS: Surviving him are his son Donald Cunningham Jr. and wife Lynn of Bethlehem; daughter Kathleen (Cunningham) Bushong and husband Keith of Lancaster, PA; grandchildren, Bridget (Cunningham) Satkoff and husband Jared of Voorhees, N.J., Shane Cunningham of Allentown, PA, Brendan Cunningham and wife Gabriella Salicetti of Brooklyn, NYC, Kyle Bushong and wife Casey of Etters, PA, Kevin Bushong and wife August of Mountville, PA, and Katie Bushong of Lancaster; great-grandchildren, Josie and Jayla Satkoff; sister Carol (Cunningham) Smith of Greensboro, N.C.; sister Sue (Cunningham) Springer and husband Mike of Kresgeville, PA, brother Craig and wife Vickie of Chapman, PA, and sister-in-law Lorraine Bleiler of Oswego, N.Y. In addition to his parents and wives, he’s predeceased by a sister Joanne Mentzer of Fort Myers, FL, and a brother Robert F., Jr. of Orange County, Calif.
SERVICES: A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, May 22, at the church, 323 Nazareth Pike, Bethlehem. The family will receive relatives and friends Thursday, May 21 from 6-8 pm at Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden St., Bethlehem and again Friday from 10-11 a.m. in the church. Burial will be at Holy Saviour Cemetery, Bethlehem. A memory tribute may be placed at www.cantelmifuneralhome.com.
CONTRIBUTIONS: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Donald’s name to American Transplant Foundation, 600 17th St., Suite 2515, Denver, CO 80202.