Frances L. Cunnison

1914 - 2010

RIVERSIDE FRANCES L. CUNNISON Frances Lynn Cunnison died in Riverside on September 12, 2010, of natural causes. She was 96. She and her twin sister, Elizabeth (who predeceased her by 10 weeks), were born May 18, 1914, at the family home on Eighth Street (now University Avenue) to citrus pioneer Harvey Lynn and his wife, Iva. The family soon moved to a citrus orchard on Atlanta Street, where she spent her formative years. She attended Lincoln School, University Heights Junior High School, Poly High School, and Riverside City College (now Riverside Community College). She graduated from UCLA in 1936, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Following a brief courtship and a lengthy engagement, she was married to Dale Cunnison in June, 1936. She continued to live for the rest of her life in the home they built in 1941. The two children of the marriage, Stephen of Riverside and Ann Thompson of Santa Barbara, survive her. She was active in charitable and community activities, including Junior Aid of Riverside (now Junior League), Meals on Wheels, Riverside Community Hospital, the Salvation Army, and Kappa Alpha Theta alumnae group. She was a member of Calvary Presbyterian Church and of the Victoria Club, where she enjoyed playing golf and bridge. She was at home in her kitchen, and her creations have become family traditions, including apple and pumpkin chiffon pie, orange marmalade, and fresh cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. She was a talented gardener, and her back porch still blooms with cymbidiums, begonias, and night blooming cereus. She was a nurturing influence in the lives of her four grandchildren, and she delighted in the adventures of her nine great-grandchildren. Her life was immeasurably enriched by her many friends, with whom she was actively involved for five, six or seven decades. She was preceded in death by her husband, her brothers Robert F. Lynn and Harvey Lynn, Jr., and her sisters Margaret Swain and Elizabeth Stalder. She is survived by her children, their spouses, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to her favorite charities, the Riverside Community College Foundation, Nature Conservancy or Victoria Avenue Forever.