Molly Elene Cunningham

Molly Elene Cunningham, age 90, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2020, at her home in Albuquerque, NM. She was born on April 18, 1929, in Olean, NY, the only child of Paul and Lillian Perkins. When Molly was ten the family moved to Port Allegheny, Pa. After high school she moved to Houston, TX, and completed the three-year nursing program at Hermann Hospital. On November 18, 1950, she married John C Cunningham, and they ultimately settled in Albuquerque, NM, where they raised their family. John spent his entire career at Sandia National Laboratories while Molly pursued her nursing career for fifty years. She got her BSN from UNM in1975, worked in local hospitals, did home nursing at the Pueblos north of Albuquerque, taught in the LPN program at TVI, and finished her career in the newborn nursery at UNM hospital. Molly was also very active in the Order of the Eastern Star, Albuquerque Chapter No 67, and served as Worthy Matron in 1966. Molly and John were married 45 years and loved to travel in their motor home, visiting all the lower 48 states. As a widow in her seventies, Molly also made two month long trips with the grandkids. She passed her love of travel and pursuing new adventures on to her children and grandchildren. She was an intelligent, kind-hearted, generous, independent, and adventurous woman. She learned to fly an airplane in her twenties, and went on a cattle drive in her fifties. She was an amazing woman and will be deeply missed.Molly was preceded in death by her parents, her husband John, and her son John D Cunningham. She is survived by her daughter Nancy, and husband Jesus (Chuy) Rodriguez, her son Paul C Cunningham and his wife Margaret, her granddaughter Alicia and her husband Alex McCash, and her grandson Nathan Cunningham, his wife Micaela Munoz, and their children Rachel and Elijah.Molly has been cremated, but a memorial and Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.Molly LOVED Polar Bears after a trip to Canada to see them in 1988, so she would be happy if donations were made in her name to Polar Bears International, PO Box 3008, Bozeman, MT, 59772.