Edythe-Mae "Barbara" Cunningham

Edythe-Mae “Barbara” Cunningham, age 97, of Bellingham, Wash., passed away peacefully on May 15, 2025, at Highland nursing home. Barbara was born November 22, 1927, at Providence Hospital in Seattle, Wash., to Patrick and Patricia (McDermot) Cunningham. The eldest of four children, she attended Bellingham Campus School through the eighth grade at what is now Western Washington University. She graduated high school in 1945 from St. Mary’s Academy, a Catholic boarding school for girls in Winlock, Wash., where she was student body president and salutatorian of her class.

Barbara’s first job out of high school was at Pacific American Fisheries in Bellingham, where she worked in the invoice division from 1945 to 1949. While on a trip to Santa Barbara for a friend’s wedding, she fell in love with the place for its Mediterranean climate, Spanish architecture, and vibrant Catholic community. She stayed for a few years and worked as a secretary at the historic Santa Barbara courthouse, enrolled in classes at UCSB, and became a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order. She moved back to Washington in the mid-1950s, where she worked for Arch Talbot at Bellingham Shipyards, and then at his radio station, KIMA-AM 1460, in Yakima.

In the fall of 1957, Barbara moved to Chicago where she would hold various secretarial positions with employers ranging from Encyclopedia Britannica to the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery. She earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in history through the evening division of Northwestern University and became a prominent member of Epsilon Eta Phi, NU’s professional sorority for business administration and commerce. She served in numerous official roles with the “Epsies,” including chapter and national president, and she went on to become president of the Professional Panhellenic Association, the Chicago area chapter, in 1967. Barbara’s ambitious leadership pursuits earned her recognition in “Who’s Who of American Women” the following year. Golfing with friends and colleagues in Chicago’s suburbs, she was often teased about her left-handed golf clubs, but she enjoyed the game and played it for years into retirement. After two decades in the Windy City, she moved to sunny San Diego where she attended Western Sierra Law School and earned her J.D. at the age of 55.

Barbara remained a working professional far beyond retirement age, and she was an avid joiner and volunteer throughout her life. For more than 30 years she served as an audiobook narrator for Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (now Learning Ally). The organization supports K-12 students, college and graduate students, veterans, and lifelong learners who cannot read standard print due to blindness, visual impairment, dyslexia, or other challenges. Urged by friends to retire in Santa Barbara, she joined Transition House Auxiliary, which helps unhoused families with children gain financial stability, and she eventually served as the organization’s president. Well into her 80s, she was a regular volunteer for the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, as well as the Vista del Monte Retirement Community. Barbara will be remembered for her quick wit, her desire for continuous self-improvement, and her lifelong devotion to the Catholic Church.

Barbara is survived by her sister, Marilyn Cunningham of Bellingham, and many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, Patrick and Dermot Cunningham.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church (1110 14th Street, Bellingham), with a committal following at Greenacres Memorial Park in Ferndale.

Donations in her memory may be made to Whatcom Hospice Foundation.