James Joseph Cunningham

James Joseph Cunningham, 88, beloved husband, father, PopPop, brother, and friend, passed away peacefully at his home in Hamilton Square on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, with his children, Kevin and Bethann, by his side. Known as "Jim" or "Bimmy," without a doubt, his most cherished names were "Dad" and "PopPop."
Born in the Kensington section of Philadelphia in 1936 to Harry and Alice (Donnelly) Cunningham, Jim enjoyed his childhood on Reach Street hanging out with his five siblings, neighborhood friends, and his dog Mickey. Although his inquisitive nature sometimes got him into trouble--stories his children and grandchildren loved hearing--it also led him down a very successful path in his adult years. Jim's hard work ethic was part of his make-up. Soon after high school, he served in the United States Army in active duty from 1955-1957, working as a radar operator on Tachikawa Air Force base in Japan. From 1957-1959, he served in the active reserves and then the inactive reserves from 1959-1961. His love and respect for the military and his country were always evident. After his discharge, Jim began his career at Philco, where his interest in air conditioning and refrigeration developed, helping him to rise from the mailroom to Lab Technician. Always a hard worker, Jim also held a second job at the post office, and in later years, worked for General Motors on weekends. In the 1970s until 1983, Jim took a position as Lab Technician and later became Lab Supervisor at Fedders in Edison until their closing. He then moved on to become Project Engineer at Kooltronic, Inc. in Hopewell, where earned a patent for developing a panel mounted cooling system, and finally retired in 2006.
Prior to joining the army, Jim met the love of his life, Janet (Patcella), at a church dance and they married in June of 1959 settling in Philadelphia. They welcomed two children, Mary Jane and Kevin, before moving the family to Hamilton Square, NJ, where their youngest daughter, Bethann, was born. Being a natural with mechanics, woodworking, and basically anything else, Jim enjoyed doing home improvement projects to make his family's home cozy and beautiful. He also loved working on cars. He and his son, Kevin, even refurbished a beautiful red and white 1955 Oldsmobile to its original glory.
Jim's greatest joy, aside from the Dallas Cowboys, his collectable cars, Elvis music, watching FOX News, and Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson movies, was spending time with his family. It was well-known that Jim would always be the last to leave any family event. His children have wonderful memories of annual Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve gatherings, family vacations in the station wagon, beach trips even though he hated sand, lots of help with home projects, his amazing singing voice, the families' Rottweilers, pool parties at Kevin's, and dinner and patio hangouts at Bethann and Pat's where Jim's love of oldies music was ever present. His six grandchildren were the light of his life and always brought a smile to their PopPop's face and a wink of his bright blue eyes, even during his final days. He will be greatly missed, but the memory of him, never forgotten.
Predeceased by his loving wife of 44 years, Janet; his parents, Harry and Alice Cunningham; his brother, Harry Jr. "Tinker" (Jean); and his sister, Alice Wray; James is survived by his children, Mary Jane (Scott) Hill of LaVerne, CA, Kevin (Sharon) of Whiting, NJ, and Bethann (Patrick) Kinney of Robbinsville, NJ; his beloved grandchildren, Sara and Heather Hill, Karley and Kevin Cunningham, and Matthew and Sean Kinney; his siblings, Johann Vessels (late John), and Joseph "Murph" (Mary) Cunningham; his special niece-in law, Janet Ann (William) Greco; as well as many nieces, nephews, and long-time friends.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. at the Saul Colonial Home, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Gregory the Great RC Church, 4620 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ.
Cremation will be private.
Visitation for family and friends will be held on Monday, April 28, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Saul Colonial Home.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jim's memory to Tunnel to Towers Foundation by visiting https://t2t.org or to a veteran's organization of your choice.