Obituary of William Henry Cunningham
Willliam H. Cunningham, 67, of Boonton Township, NJ, passed away on March 21st, 2024. He is survived by his siblings, Jim (Chloe Callahan) Cunningham, Sue (Stephen) Fitzpatrick, Dan (Pam) Cunningham, and Linda (Jacques) Lemire; 9 nieces and nephews, and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, William F. Cunningham and Regina F. Cunningham; and his brother, Thomas J. Cunningham.
Born in Bay Shore, NY in September 1956, Bill grew up in North Babylon and later, Islip. He received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and then worked in Washington D.C. for the General Services Administration (GSA) for several years before earning his MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Bill then worked for Irving Trust, which later became the Bank of New York, where he managed large mortgages for regional banks. He was active in the alumni associations for both universities. Bill retired in 2000 and focused on managing his investments. He frequently wrote articles for the investing site Seeking Alpha, where he had over 2000 followers.
Bill had a lifelong love of travel and challenging himself, which led to a quest to climb as many of the Seven Summits (the highest peaks on each continent) as he could. During his lifetime he summited Mt Vinson in Antarctica, Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Mt Elbrus in the Russian Urals. He also climbed Mt Rainier in Washington. Like the two times he ran the New York City Marathon, he set out on these endeavors with much enthusiasm and seemingly little training, but like his father, Bill had abundant self-confidence and rarely failed to achieve the goals he set for himself.
Bill was an avid genealogist and over the decades traced his family’s roots through many generations. He even visited several ancestral villages across Europe to get a better understanding of his family’s history. He also enjoyed cultivating relationships with newfound family members. It was not unusual for him to meet or become pen pals with relatives in their late 90s or even over 100 that he met through his genealogy research. He was the family historian, and we all knew that when an email from Bill came in, it was best to grab a cup of coffee or glass of wine and settle in to read the newest revelations. Brevity was not his forte (nor were the puns he was so fond of).
Bill had a passion for gardening and was a longtime member and past President of the Rockaway Valley Garden Club. He was proud of the projects he participated in that beautified the public spaces in his local area and he was instrumental in helping the club win several awards.
Bill was very social and enjoyed nothing more than doing a spur-of-the-moment get-together with a group of extended family and friends to attend a jazz concert in Manhattan, try a new restaurant, or take a tour of a botanical garden. Through the years he seemed to collect friends who treated him like family.
Bill earned his Eagle Scout badge by cleaning up a local park to improve the drainage and prevent erosion. This is the embodiment of how Bill lived his life—he had a big heart and enjoyed using his skills to help when others needed him.
Funeral services will be held at Codey and Mackey Funeral Home in Boonton, NJ. Visitation will be on Thursday, March 28th from 3:00 - 8:00pm and Friday, March 29 at 9:00am with a service at 9:30am. There will be a family burial at Mount St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing, NY immediately following the service. To share a condolence or memory please visit CodeyMackeyFH.com