Janet Louise Cunningham

Janet Louise was born to Charles Gates Dawes and Lucille M. Dawes (Kincaid) January 29,1933 in Portland Oregon.  She was raised in Beaverton, Oregon with her older brother William Charles ‘Bud’ Dawes, and graduated from Beaverton High School.

After graduating, Janet worked to save up for her first car, learned to drive, and moved  to Dallas, Texas where she worked for General Motor Acceptance Corporation. It was there that she met her husband Charles.

Charles Frederic was born in Topeka, Kansas to Warner Rolla Cunningham and Dorothy Cunningham (Sallee) June 30,1930. He was raised in Pueblo, Colorado with his older brother Warner Rolla ‘Bud’ Cunningham Jr., and graduated from Central High School. Charles, served in the U.S Air Force near the end of the Korean War and was stationed at F.E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After an honorable discharge, he worked for General  Motors Acceptance Corporation, and met Janet in Dallas Texas,

Charles and Janet were married April 1,1955 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Promotions and transfers within GMAC took them from Texas, where their first daughter Kathleen Lucille was born in 1956, to Pueblo, Colorado where son Patrick Warner was born in 1958, and to Denver, Colorado where daughters Kellie Jean and Christine Dee were born in 1960 and 1962. Family complete, they moved to Kendall Park, New Jersey, then Overland Park, Kansas, and then to Glenshaw, Pennsylvania.  Their final move, in 1986,  took them back to Texas where Charles retired after a lifetime career at GMAC.

Janet, also known as Momma and Grandma, even by some who were not related, always wanted to be a teacher. Though she was never able to attend college, she became a life-long learner and a teacher to her children.  Soaking in all the information she could from reading, museums, and historical sites around the country, she imparted wisdom and knowledge to her kids and insisted they look things up together in the dictionary, encyclopedia and maps if there was something they did not know. Janet, a stay-at-home mother, was devoted to her children.  She was the leader of the girls Camp Fire Girls groups and loved to teach them about the outdoors and take them camping. She also made many of the clothes for the girls, including Homecoming, Prom and bridesmaids dresses.

Charles, also known as Charlie, Daddy and Grandpa, having worked his entire career for GMAC, loved driving and he loved cars. He always knew the latest makes and models and liked trading his in frequently for something different. Charlie also loved playing cards and taught his kids and grandkids to play Rummy, Canasta, Cribbage, Russian Bank, and Poker when they were just little. But there was no game he loved more than Bridge. He spent much of his retirement picking up a game of bridge in various Senior Centers around town and even formed his own group affectionately known by his kids as, “The Geezers”.

Together, Charlie and Janet loved to travel.  They packed up the camper, the kids and the grandkids and went on Grand Adventures from one end of the country to the other and back again. They also loved large family meals at their big dining room table and silliness around their backyard pool.

In March of 2016, Charlie was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer.  He lived life fully until he left us June 30, 2016. Janet lived four more years struggling with Parkinson's Disease until she left us August 19, 2020. Both of them died peacefully at home in Plano,Texas surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

They have left a legacy of love and laughter to their family:

Kathleen and Ronnie Hulett, with daughter Amity and and her husband Jason Mains and their children Austyn and Aidyn, son Brian and his wife Mindy Hulett and their children Jayden, Katie and Kara, and son Justin and his wife Twila Hulett  and their children Caitlynne (daughter Ava and son Isaiah), and Brandyn.

Patrick and Carol Cunningham with daughter Terrie Cunningham, and daughter Stephanie and her husband Sam Meaders.

Kellie and Tim Haithcoat, with daughter Kara and her husband Matt Spitz and their children Elsie and Jackson, daughter Lindlie and her husband Matt Blackwood and their children Timothy, Raiden and Aliyah, son James and his wife Erin Haithcoat, daughter Louisa and her husband Patrick Stark, daughter Robin Haithcoat, daughter Kacie Haithcoat, son William Haithcoat, and son Harrison Haithcoat.

Christine and Roy Roos, with son Nicholas Roos and his son Ioka, son Jacob and his wife Vicki Roos, and daughter Maria and her husband Matt Edwards.

Charles Frederic Cunningham

June 1,1930 to June 30, 2016

Santa Fe National Cemetery and Mountain View Cemetery, Walla Walla, Washington

Janet Dawes Cunningham

January 29,1933 to August 19, 2020

Mountain View Cemetery, Walla Walla, Washington and The Pacific Northwest