WILMINGTON — Thomas Greeley Cunningham was born Feb. 26, 1944 to the late Charles Lee and Hazeleen Rodgers Cunningham and died Sept. 12, 2023 of prostate cancer caused by exposure to Agent Orange during his1968-69 service in South Vietnam.
Brother Charles Lee Cunningham Jr. preceded him in death. Survivors include his wife of 55 years Mary Ann (Mimi) Wilkinson Cunningham; sister Patricia C. Buff (Robert Yates) of Sunset Beach, NC; brother David E. Cunningham (Elaine) of Wingate, NC; five nieces and nephews; five grandnieces and nephews; godson Alastair Baines of Orlando, FL; and special friends Will Marsh of Wilmington and Brigitte and Volkmar Krestel of Germany.
After growing up in Monroe, NC, Tom went to NC State where he interrupted college to join the US Army Corps of Engineers until 1970. Awarded the Bronze Star for his work as a combat engineer during war, he attained the rank of captain. Back at NC State, he earned a BS (71) and MS (74) in materials engineering and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.
They moved to Wilmington in 1974 for him to work at General Electric Nuclear Energy in engineering and management and spent more than 20 years as a lead recruiter for GE.
They are longtime financial supporters of State’s Material Science and Engineering Department (MSE) where they endowed a scholarship and are members of several giving societies including the Riddick Lifetime Giving Society. Tom was inducted into the department’s MSE Alumni Hall of Fame in the inaugural class in 2015.
Tom was especially proud of his 25 years on the Park Scholarships Selection Committee and his leadership of the Sandhills Region. In 2017, Tom and Mimi made two landmark gifts to establish the Tom and Mimi Cunningham Park Scholarship Endowment with preference for students studying materials science and engineering.
Tom was a board member and twice president of the GE Retirees Association in Wilmington, served on the UNC Wilmington board of visitors, and endowed the Mimi Cunningham Speaker Series at UNCW. Much of Tom’s full life revolved around his and Mimi’s universities and international travel. South Africa in 2018 was a favorite. He enjoyed theatre and was a patron of the Wilson Center, Opera House Theatre, WHQR and Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts.
Special thanks to Drs. Papagikos, Schreiber, Russell, Zeman and their teams and Lower Cape Fear LifeCare and Hospice Care Center for excellent care during his final illness.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to the NCSU Foundation for the benefit of the Tom and Mimi Cunningham Park Scholarship Endowment. Mail to Park Scholarships, NC State University, Campus Box 7474, Raleigh, NC 27695-7474.
Visitation will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, September 17 at Andrews Mortuary, 1617 Market St. in Wilmington. At his request, there will be no memorial service.
