Benjamin Franklin (Bill) Cunningham was born in Clovis, NM, on Aug. 4, 1928, and went to his Eternal Home with Jesus on Sept. 23, 2019. He passed away peacefully at the age of 91 at his home in Crosby, Tx. When he was a young boy, Bill’s family moved to Houston. He served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946. He married his life long love, Ruth Brown, in Nov. 1949. Bill became a firefighter for the City of Houston in 1950, the same month his first daughter was born. Over the next 10 years, three more daughters were added to the family. Bill served 25 years and 9 months in the fire department, achieving the rank of Sr. Captain, retiring in 1976. His last few years in the fire department were spent as a recruiter, where he recruited Houston’s first female firefighter in 1974. As a follower of Jesus Christ, Bill was passionate about his faith, and was a great example of the scripture found in Micah 6:8 – “He has told you O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Others knew Bill for his integrity, honesty and service without any hesitation or expectation of anything in return. He was also passionate about music and served as interim music director at numerous churches in the area. He was also a licensed private pilot and a member in good standing of the Huffman Masonic Lodge. After living in Houston for many years, Bill and Ruth moved the family to Huffman in 1965, where they remained for 32 years. They spent the next 15 years in Iola, TX, and then moved to Indian Shores in Crosby for the remainder of his life. His hobbies included carpentry, auto mechanics and flying. Bill is preceded in death by his parents, 6 siblings, and daughter Debi Layne. He is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Ruth Cunningham, daughters Karen Copelin, of Sugar Land, TX, Brenda McGinnis, of Kealia, HI and Jill Pursell, of Glenwood Springs, CO, 4 sons-in-law, one sister, Sue Wood, of Crowley, TX, as well as 12 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on Monday, Oct. 7, at First Baptist Church in Huffman, at 10:30 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the First Baptist Church building fund, Realizing the Dream – Gathering Together, at fbchuffman.org.