Richard L. Cunningham, 80

Richard Lee Cunningham, 80, of Kilgore, passed away Sept. 16, 2021.

He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was born June 20, 1941, in Youngstown, to Clyde and Edna Cunningham (Stanley). He graduated from Austintown Fitch High School in Austintown, in 1959, and graduated from Youngstown University in 1963. He married Judy Snyder on June 12, 1965.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Judy Cunningham; children, Gregg (Tamie) Cunningham of Rapid River, MI, Jennifer Hodgdon of Woolwich, ME, Amy (Doug) Richards of Whitefield, ME, and Matthew (Jennifer) Cunningham of Fountain Inn, SC; grandchildren, Colt (Stephanie) Cunningham of Bradenton, FL, Levi (Lori) Cunningham of Simpsonville, SC, Courtney (Chad) Verbrigghe of Gladstone, MI, Emily (Aaron) Lapointe of Woolwich, ME, Madison Hodgdon of Bar Harbor, ME, Asa Hodgdon of Woolwich, ME, Alexis (Brysson) Hileman of Salt Lake City, UT, Griffin Richards of Whitefield, ME, Preston Bingham of Plain City, UT, Nicole (Norman) Bryner of Hooper, UT, and Brooke (Adam) Littlefield of Spokane Valley, WA; great grandchildren, Gavin Montgomery, Kaden, Makenna, and Hailey Bingham, Braxton Verbrigghe, Everett, Eleanor and Liam Cunningham, Jack Littlefield and Jenna Lapointe.

Richard is also survived by his sister, Kay (Jim) Mills of Austintown; brother, Robert (Delores) Cunningham of Winter Haven, FL; sister-in-law, Jeanne Cunningham of Deerfield, OH, as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, son-in-law, Greg Hodgdon; granddaughter, Samantha Hodgdon; brother, Gary Cunningham; and stepmother, Eunice Penrod Cunningham.

Richard was a teacher for 26 years at Kilgore Elementary School, part of the Carrollton Exempted Village School District, retiring in 1993. Prior to coming to Carrollton, he taught junior high in the Alliance Public Schools and the West Holmes Local School District. He enjoyed directing junior high plays, having done 17 of them in his teaching career at Kilgore.

In later years, after retiring, he organized the Kilgore School Reunion which meets annually for a banquet and fellowship. He and his wife, Judy, were Kilgore Rangers 4-H Club advisors for 13 years. They also sold Watkins products at several fairs for 13 years. Richard enjoyed being a poll worker at Kilgore precinct for many years. He was employed at the Harlem Dairy Dream during the ‘90s and spent more than 20 years as an Amish taxi driver.

His favorite pastime was taking pictures. Many of those pictures were taken at church activities. He was a longtime member of Carrollton Bible Chapel, where he was the founder and chairman of the senior citizen group called OAKS. He was founder and chairman of the concert committee. Southern Gospel and hymns were his favorite type of music. Each year, he and Judy, along with the concert committee, hosted six Southern Gospel groups, enjoyed by many.

The highlight of his life was his appearance as a contestant on the TV show, The Price is Right, in 2017. Arranged by his grandchildren, Asa sprung it on him and Judy at the church one Sunday morning, it was a total surprise!

The funeral service will be held at 12 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Carrollton Bible Chapel, 365 Steubenville Rd. SE Carrollton, with Pastors Doug Richards and David Guess officiating. Burial will follow at Kilgore Cemetery, Carroll Count. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the church. The family requests face masks be worn by all attending. Family requests instead of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Carroll County Council on Aging Senior Friendship Center, P.O. Box 14, 100 Kensington Rd. NE, Carrollton, OH 44615, in memory of Richard. However, if you choose to send flowers, please have them delivered to the church on Tuesday between 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. For additional information and to view Richard’s online obituary, visit www.churchfuneralsdirect.com.