John Bell Cunningham
1920-Feb. 21, 2009
Los Altos Hills, California

John Bell Cunningham, 89, died Feb. 21 at his home in Los Altos Hills after a brief illness.

He had recently moved to California, having lived most of his life in Nashville, Tenn., where he graduated from Cumberland Law school and practiced law for many years. Voted "most thoughtful" and "most courteous" in high school, he was a lifelong practitioner of the art of conversation.

He is remembered by loved ones as a gentle soul and will be missed by both family and friends. He was an accomplished tenor singer, an avid swimmer, diver, golfer, tennis player and competitive inland sailboat racer. As teenagers, he and his brother built a raft and paddled it down the Cumberland River. HE served in World War II as a navy lieutenant commander.

He is survived by his brother, Robert Quarles Cunningham of San Marino, Calif.; five children, Joan Cunningham of Chapel Hill N.C., Helen Cunningham of Los Altos Hills, John Addison of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., Sherry Corlew of Springifleld Tenn., Rick Addison of Nashville, Tenn.; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

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