Submitted by: Dan Rich

Eleanor Cunningham

July 1, 1921 - June 23, 2000

South Bend Tribune 6/30/2000

Mrs. Eleanor Cunningham, 78, beloved mother, grandmother and sister who resided on East Indiana Avenue, South Bend, Ind., passed away following a brief illness at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, June 23, in Memorial Hospital. On July 1, 1921, in Rulesville, Miss., she was born to the union of the late Henry and Sarah Sandifer.

She was united in marriage to Billy Cunningham, who preceded her in death on Aug. 13, 1978. She was also preceded in death by two brothers, J. D. Smith and Macclay Sandifer; and by a special friend, Lillian Porter. Coming from Chicago, Ill., she moved to South Bend in 1969. She retired from the Phillips Industrial Company, and was a member of the Tree Mount Baptist Church in Chicago.

Loving family members who survive include two daughters, Charlene (Ward) Blair and Denise (Curtis) Strickland; one son, Eric Cunningham of Indianapolis, Indiana; five grandchildren, Curtrina, Kayla and Calandra Strickland, Eric Cunningham Jr., and Adrell Dushawn (Jemima) Underwood; one brother, Jesse (Donna) Sandifer of South Bend; and two sisters-in-law, Francella Smith and Maxine Sandifer.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 1, in Alford's Mortuary. Interment will follow at Highland Cemetery. Friends may call one hour before the service in Alford's Mortuary, where arrangements have been entrusted.