Yvonne Heard Cunningham

1928 - 2017

Yvonne Heard (Polly)

Cunningham

Brentwood, TN

Yvonne Heard (Polly) Cunningham, former longtime resident of Laurel, Mississippi, died peacefully on June 27, 2017 in Brentwood, Tennessee at age 89. She had been a resident of Brighton Gardens assisted living center for the past eight years.



She was born in Sidon, Mississippi, on June 10, 1928 to Thomas Wesley Heard and Mary Azalene Mullins Heard. She was the sixth child of nine. She graduated from Tchula High School in 1946, attended Mississippi State College for Women, and was later a graduate of Delta State University in Cleveland. After teaching school in Arkansas, she married John Brittain Cunningham of Tchula on August 1st, 1954. She moved to Laurel from Memphis in 1962 and resided in Country Club Hills until shortly after the death of her husband in 2008 when she moved to Brentwood, Tennessee.



Polly was a beautiful soul inside and out. She was a devout Christian and a long time member of Franklin United Methodist Church and later Mt. Vernon Baptist Church. Her greatest love was for her Lord, and she was a faithful servant until the end of her life. She was a kind, faithful, and gracious friend, and was always more concerned for the well-being and comfort of others than for herself. Even though she had suffered through various health issues for the last twenty years of her life, she never lost her positive attitude and her life was defined by love of family, gratitude, service to others, and a stoic grace which was always evident to anyone she met.



She was a wonderful mother to her four sons, and took tremendous joy in each and every one of her grandchildren. Her loving spirit, kindness, compassion, and beautiful smile will be missed by all of those who knew her.



She was preceded in death by her father and mother, husband, son Stephen Christopher, and five brothers and sisters. She is survived by sons Les (Susan) Cunningham of Knoxville, Tennessee; Ken Cunningham of Nashville, Brian (Lisa) Cunningham of Snellville, Georgia; daughter in law Tracy Cunningham of Brandon, Mississippi, brothers Henry (Virginia) Heard of Greenwood, Mississippi; L. Pete (Myrna) Heard of Brandon, Mississippi, and sister Mary Tom (Charles) Aldridge of Burnsville, North Carolina. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.



Visitation will be Saturday, July 1st at 10:00 am at Memory Chapel in Laurel, Mississippi followed by a funeral service at Memory Chapel at 11:00 a.m. Burial will be directly following the service at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church Cemetery.