Alice L. Cunningham

Alice “Lorene” Cunningham, 97, passed away on September 5, 2025. Lorene was born on October 7, 1927, to Charles and Alice Ryan in Burden, Kansas.

Lorene was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Gale; her brother, Joe Ryan and his wife, Betty; her sister, Leola Teel, and her husband Bill; and her sister, Lucille; and her grandson, Kenny Ballinger.

Lorene is survived by her son, Roger Cunningham and his wife, Lana; her daughter, Pam Ballinger and her husband, Bruce; her grandsons, Brent Cunningham and his wife, Kristina; Ryan Armstrong and his fiancé, Kaydie Tweedy; and Ross Armstrong and his wife, Melina; her granddaughters, Brittani Walters and Carly Ballinger; her great-grandchildren, Talon Cunningham, Tate Cunningham, McKenzie States (Hayden), Eli Armstrong, Ryder Armstrong, Knox Armstrong, Jaden Armstrong, and Harlan Ballinger; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

Lorene, also known as “Granny” by many, hand wrote much of the following about her life (as edited by Picky Pam): “I stayed in Burden my first year after graduation (1945). In May of 1946, I went to Manitou Springs, Colorado, to work at the Stagecoach Inn. Returned there in the summers of 1947-1950, as Manitou was a summer resort town. I had a girlfriend, Fanette (Morgan) Meade, who lived in Colorado Springs where I also stayed a couple of falls with her and her husband, Cliff. In the fall of 1949, my mother’s cousin asked my sister, Lucille, and I to go to Caldwell, Kansas, to work in a café for his uncle. That is where I met Gale Cunningham. We married on August 27, 1950, in Raton, New Mexico. Gale went to work for Boeing in 1951. That year we moved to Burden where I worked in my folks’ general store so they could take a trip to West Virginia to visit relatives and continuing on to Washington, D.C. to visit the National landmarks.

Our son, Roger, was born in 1952 while we still lived in Burden. In May of 1954, we moved to our new home in Derby where I lived in the same house until the summer of 2024. Our daughter, Pam, was born in 1956. We spent many summer vacations taking my mother to the horse race tracks where my father was racing his thoroughbred horses – Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New York. I was a Den Mother for Roger’s Cub Scout pack in the 1960s – helping with the Blue and Gold Banquets held at the original Woodlawn UMC where Jack & Jill is now located. I worked for the Derby School District from 1965-1969, first at the Administrative Center and then at Derby High School in the Library. I moved to Wichita East High School in 1969 and retired from there in 1989. Gale retired from Boeing Computer Services in 1988. We enjoyed spending weekends and vacations at lakes and acquired a camping trailer in 1966, upgrading many times. During our retirement years, we summered in Colorado and wintered in Texas.”

After her initial retirement and her husband’s passing, “Granny” volunteered at the Derby Middle School in the Home Economics Department and at Swaney Elementary in the Library or wherever needed to assist children in their learning, and finally truly retired in the fall of 2021. Granny attended football, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, and whatever other sporting events in which her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were involved. 

Visitation with family is 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at Smith Family Mortuary, 1415 N. Rock Road, Derby, Kansas, and funeral service is 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 431 S. Woodlawn, Derby, Kansas.

Memorials have been established with Gentiva Hospice, 9229 E. 37th Street North, Suite 102b, Wichita, KS 67226, and Woodlawn United Methodist Church, Derby, KS 67037.

Special thanks to the Swaney Ladies that have kept in touch and visited Granny since her retirement and to Erin, Michell, Tony and the rest of the staff at Gentiva Hospice. You made her days brighter.