Obituary of Helen Patricia Cunningham

 

 

 

 

Helen Patricia “Pat” Cunningham died suddenly October 15, 2022 on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where she had lived for the past six years.  Pat was the loving wife of Robert F. Cunningham and loving mother to Dr. Jillian M. Kiely of Tampa, Florida and Rachel M. Cunningham of New York, New York.

 

She was born August 9, 1952, the daughter of the late James Robert and Helen Frances Berry of Wayland, Massachusetts and leaves two brothers, Robert Berry of Ashland, Massachusetts and Dennis Berry of Wayland, as well as numerous extended family.

 

Pat grew up in Wayland, graduating from Wayland High School in 1970, attended the University of Maine, and earned an Associates Degree from the Katherine Gibbs School in Boston.  She worked for many years as a Legal Secretary in the Tax Department of Bingham, Dana and Gould in Boston and later as Executive Assistant to the President of The Finch Group real estate firm in Boston.

 

After residing in Wellesley, Massachusetts the family lived for 28 years in San Mateo, California, when her husband’s career with Citicorp took them there and where their daughters were raised.  Pat and her husband retired to Hilton Head Island in 2016. 

 

Pat loved her family, British and other foreign mysteries, reading, theater and Broadway musicals, swimming, and traveling with her husband in Europe.  She also enjoyed the South Carolina Yacht Club as an active Book Club member, founder of a Ladies’ Lunch group and assisting with hospitality at sailing regattas.  Pat was very religious and loved being active in her church and advanced Bible study as well.  She brought light and joy to all who knew and loved her and will be sorely missed.

 

A wake will be held from 5 to 7 PM at the G F Doherty Funeral Home in Wellesley, Massachusetts on Sunday, October 23^rd.  A funeral service will be held at 10:30 AM on Monday, October 24^th at St. Zepherin’s Church in Wayland, Massachusetts.  Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Wellesley, immediately following.

 

The family request that in lieu of flowers donations be made in memory of Helen Patricia Cunningham to: St. Anthony’s Shrine, Franciscan Church, 100 Arch Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, https://stanthonyshrine.org/giving/; or the Wounded Warrior Project https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

 

 

The funeral service may be downstreamed live from www.goodshepardwayland.org directly (“Livestreamed Masses”) or from YouTube using the above website address as the search term.