Daniel Stephen Cunningham M.D.

1934 - 2023

A loving husband, father, grandfather, veteran and devoted Catholic. After graduating from New Trier High School in Chicago, Daniel attended Yale University on a full academic scholarship, graduating with honors at the top of his class in 1955. He would go on to study medicine at Baylor University in Houston Texas, graduating first in his class with honors. Daniel would spend the next 10 years in Residency in General Surgery, taking him from Texas to Chicago and California.

After finishing his residency, a sense of duty and service to others would call to him, and in 1966 Daniel would travel to Nicaragua to spend the next several months volunteering for Project Hope, a converted WWII era hospital ship whose mission was to help those in underserved countries. As a surgeon on this floating hospital, he worked on those who were in need the most, adults and children who had little hope elsewhere.

By the end of 1966, Daniel would answer the call to serve others again, this time as a surgeon and Captain in the Vietnam war. Stationed at the Third Field Hospital in Saigon, his service was instrumental to saving so many young American lives as well as the lives of the Vietnamese people themselves. He would eventually be awarded the Bronze Star for his service under duress from hostile forces.

Daniel eventually relocated to Long Beach, California where he would meet his future wife of 50 years, Toni. Married in 1974, they would have two children, Daniel and Leslie, as well as four grandchildren, Daniel, Mark, Kensington and Emery.

Daniel would remain in Long Beach for the rest of his life, where he had a successful private practice in Plastic and Reconstructive surgery while also serving his community at Long Beach Memorial Hospital for nearly 30 years. Although raised in the Midwest, Daniel was a California native at heart and was always grateful for the beautiful weather, beaches, and most of all, the community that Long Beach provided for him.

He will be deeply missed.