Paul Franklin Cunningham

Paul Franklin Cunningham was born on September 14, 1935, at home near Old Hickory Road outside Hattieville, Arkansas. He passed away peacefully at the age of 90 on June 6, 2026, at 1:44 a.m. in Waterloo, Iowa, at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home.

The eldest son of Howard Davis Cunningham and Canzada “Zadie” (Harris) Cunningham, Paul moved with his family to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, at the age of two. He attended Lincoln, Rice Creek, and Phillipsburg elementary schools before graduating from College High School in 1953.

After high school, Paul attended Southwestern Bible College in Oklahoma City for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1955. He served as company clerk with the 95th Combat Engineers in Darmstadt, Germany, where he received an invitation to apply to West Point. He was honorably discharged in 1957.

Following his military service, Paul returned to Southwestern Bible College and earned a B.A. in Theology. It was there that he met the love of his life, Marcia Irene Spicer. The couple got married on August 2, 1959. Paul later completed a B.S. in English Education from Emporia State Teachers College in Kansas and pursued Master of Science coursework at Wichita State University while living in El Dorado, Kansas.

Paul and Marcia raised four children, two sons and twin daughters, and were blessed with 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

A man of many talents, Paul’s professional life included serving as a paperboy at age seven, draftsman at Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville, assistant manager for Safeway Grocery Stores in Oklahoma City, high school English teacher and assistant wrestling coach in El Dorado, Kansas, and finally as Social Security District Manager serving communities across Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. He chaired United Way campaigns and served as president of the Federal Agencies Employees Association. He retired from federal service in 1998 and afterward owned and managed several real estate rental properties.

Above all, Paul was a kind, loving, and devoted family man who took great pride in providing for his wife of 67 years and watching all his children become college graduates with successful careers. An avid outdoorsman, he loved hunting quail and pheasant with his father and father-in-law and fishing with friends. He was deeply interested in genealogy, cherished his Oklahoma roots, shared old Western tales, quoted poetry, played cards and dominoes, and treasured morning coffee with friends. A good listener who offered wise counsel, he was admired for his personal integrity and calm strength in times of crisis. To his grandchildren he was beloved “Papa” or “Grandad,” and to his wife, simply “Honey.”

Paul came to faith at age 17 and was baptized in the Caney River near Bartlesville, Oklahoma. A lifelong believer, he was a faithful member of the Assembly of God denomination, serving on church boards and as interim pastor; and later Cedar Valley Wesleyan Church in Waterloo, Iowa, where he served on the church board and taught Sunday School. His favorite scripture passage was John 10:1-18. He now rejoices in the presence of his Lord in Paradise.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents Howard and Zadie; sisters Wanda Ruth Harness and Annette Jean Keitel; his son Christopher Craig Cunningham; and grandson Brody Paul Everett Cunningham.

He is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Marcia; children son John Paul Cunningham and wife Ana of Moorpark, California, twin daughter Marie Elizabeth Lewis and husband Matthew Sparks of Carlsbad, California, twin daughter Mavis Wren Manson and her husband John of Spotsylvania, Virginia, and daughter-in-law Tricia Cunningham (wife to his late son Craig) of Indio, California; Grandchildren Alexis “Lexi” Sadeghi and husband Sam, Jacob Cunningham and wife Kelsey, Joshua Cunningham and fiancé Claire, Cameron Cunningham and wife Alexa, Carter Cunningham and wife Calicia, John “Jack” Manson, Katherine “Katie” Lewis, Joseph “Joey” Cunningham, Ashlyn Cunningham, Contessa “Tessa” Cunningham, and John “Johnny” Cunningham; Great-grandchildren Selah Grace, Callum John, Cyrus Craig, Parker Wilder, and Quinn Rose; and Siblings Emma Brennan, and husband Charles, Van Cunningham, and wife Rose, Bobby Cunningham, and wife Angie, Marvale Parry, and husband Jerry, Donna Boling and Aneda Rayl.   

Funeral services with full military honors will be held on Friday, June 12, 2026, at Locke at Tower Park Funeral Home, 4140 Kimball Ave, Waterloo, IA 50701. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the funeral service at 11:00 a.m. The obituary will be read by his daughter Mavis Manson. Pallbearers will be his seven grandsons and two sons-in-law. Burial will follow in the family plot at Laverne Cemetery in Laverne, Oklahoma, under the direction of Schilling Funeral Home, 421 S. Broadway, Laverne, OK 73848.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Cedar Valley Hospice Home, 2001 Kimball Ave, Waterloo, Iowa 50702. Online condolences may be expressed at www.lockefuneralservices.com.