Bruce Douglas Cunningham 1940 – 2023
Engineer, Inventor, Runner, Biker, Car Enthusiast, Safety Advocate, Musician, Good Friend, Loving Husband and Father
Bruce Cunningham, 83, died Monday, December 11 at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vt. He wanted to live the rest of his life in the house he designed in Hinesburg, but his tall, strong body gave out due to a combined infection and aortic embolism, complicated by Alzheimer’s.
He is survived by his wife, Donna; daughter Laura Cunningham Firkey, her husband Peter, and granddaughters Emily (husband Charlie) and Eva, all of Essex Junction, Vt.; step-children Catherine Kelly of Philadelphia, Pa., Michael Kelly of Bangkok, Thailand, and John Kelly (wife Jennifer, children James and Charlotte) of Ft. Worth, Tx. He is also survived by his brothers John Cunningham (wife Dana) of Durango, Mexico, and Scot (wife Sheri) Cunningham of Osgood, In, as well as many nephews, nieces, and cousins.
He was predeceased by his parents, Douglas and Elizabeth Cunningham, his brothers Fred and William Cunningham, and his sister Ann Maree Beaman.
He held a bachelor’s degree in physics from Florida State University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Vermont.
Bruce served in the U.S. Air Force. He worked as an engineer at IBM for 26 years. Following retirement, he operated a road-grading business and spent many years as a citizen advocate, traveling often to the state capitol to lobby legislators on issues including drug abuse, tobacco use, and property tax fines. He served several terms as president of the Vermont Lung Association and the Arthritis Foundation of New England and as a member of the school boards of the Champlain Valley Unified School District and Essex Junction High School.
A fitness enthusiast, Bruce completed more than 20 marathons, two ultra-marathons, and uncounted other races. He was an accomplished bicyclist and held two patents for his invention of the CycleCraft, a watercraft that was adjustable to fit any size bicycle and allowed bicyclists to ride, literally, on water.
He loved classic cars and was often seen in the 1952 Jaguar roadster he lovingly maintained, relying on a lifetime of mechanical expertise. Bruce loved the Vermont woods. He designed his and Donna’s home, with sustainable materials, woodstoves, and large windows that take advantage of passive solar energy. He managed their 20-acre woodlot, judiciously cutting down trees and chopping wood for fuel.
He sang in several choruses and played the tuba in the Hinesburg Community Band. He played the bagpipes at home, at car shows and festivals, and sometimes on lake ferries. A private, family memorial is planned.
Original Obituary in the Burlington Free Press .
Phyl Newbeck published this piece on Bruce back in 2012.
Bruce Cunningham: Bringing Thomas Jefferson’s Words to Life
It all started when Bruce Cunningham was in his 30’s. “I had a good job,” he said, “and a wife, a home in the suburbs and two or three cars.” Cunningham already had everything he had expected to achieve and began to wonder whether there wasn’t something more than “going to work, coming home, and mowing the lawn on weekends.” He began doing volunteer work and as an engineer, “a compulsive problem solver,” he explored how to better use his talents. Cunningham first turned his attention to the problem of world hunger. He lived near Washington D.C. at the time and began to lobby Congress, getting involved in hunger initiatives with his local Methodist church and the international group Bread for the World.
In 1989 Cunningham moved to Hinesburg and four years later, he retired from IBM because he believed his full-time job was taking time away from his volunteer work. Cunningham dabbled in some other jobs and at one point bought a road grader and went into the grading business to pay for it, but eventually he decided the whole point of retiring was “doing what I want, when I want, with nobody telling me what to do.”
Cunningham realizes that for many people the word “lobbyist” is an epithet, but he believes legislative advocacy is the best way to bring to life Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a government that is “of the people, by the people, for the people.” This year, he is working to push three bills through the Vermont legislature. The bill which has been getting the most attention is a bicycle and pedestrian safety bill which has 49 sponsors in the House. Cunningham has a long history of involvement with bicycle and pedestrian issues dating back to his days as a bicycle commuter and marathon and ultra runner. He has served as president of the Green Mountain Athletic Association and on the Board of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition.
Although Cunningham was pleased with the Safe Passing bill which the Vermont Legislature adopted last year, he felt it was missing three key ingredients: the requirement of increasing clearance for passing “vulnerable users” based on the speed of the vehicle; a prohibition against passing with such users in the opposite lane; and protection for cyclists from cars making right hand turns. His proposed bill (H. 548) is currently in the Transportation Committee where Cunningham estimates he has 6 of the 11 votes needed for passage. He is confident it will pass the full House, as well. The other two bills Cunningham is working on involve repealing the law which assesses an 8% penalty on late tax payments (Cunningham was able to get Hinesburg to do this for local taxes) and a bill requiring the Department of Liquor Control to ensure that stores show 90% compliance with the law forbidding the sale of tobacco to minors.
Several years ago, Cunningham wondered whether he couldn’t make more of an impact by serving in the Legislature. He considered running when Bill Lippert was making his first run for a full term but eventually he realized they had very few areas of disagreement. Unable to get his name off the ballot, Cunningham stood outside the polls with a sign asking people to vote for Lippert. He later tried to run for State Senate but found that without a political affiliation and a deep bank account it was a daunting task. “I had a fantasy about being a legislator,” he said “but I got over that.” Cunningham did serve eight years on the CVU board, successfully getting the board to switch to Australian ballot for their budget vote.
Cunningham believes citizens don’t realize they can make a difference in the Vermont legislature. He has learned that all it takes is four phone calls for a legislator to believe that the majority of their district feels a certain way. “If you want to see something happen, just pick up the phone,” he said. “And if you really want to get something to happen, ask three of your friends to do the same thing. Voting isn’t enough. You need to pay attention, stay involved and talk to your legislators if you want government by the people.”
Bruce and I met in 1975 at the Plattsburgh Internation Marathon We shared a ride back to cars on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain and made a date to run together We did that a lot and ran many GMAA races together.
Thought you'd enjoy the attached photo of Bruce, standing in front of a shop in St. Augustine while I popped inside. His eyes were hidden by his reflective sunglasses. A little boy walked right up close to him and marvelled, "He looks real!" Donna
