Valerie E. Cunningham

Valerie (Bleiler) Cunningham, 80, of Bonita Springs, Florida, formerly of Bethlehem, PA, died July 9 unexpectedly after a brief illness in Lee Memorial Hospital, Fort Myers, Florida. The daughter of the late Ernest Bleiler and the late Mildred (Strohl) Bleiler of Fogelsville, PA, she was born May 8, 1945, in Allentown, PA, the day the Allied Forces declared Victory in Europe (VE Day) in World War II. She was named Valerie Elaine in recognition of the day's significance. She was the wife of Donald T. Cunningham, Sr., also formerly of Bethlehem. The couple were married for 42 years. They retired to Florida in 2014, where they were active residents of the Spring Run Golf Club Community. Raised in Fogelsville, PA, Valerie was a 1963 graduate of Parkland High School. She was a registered nurse with an R.N. degree from the former Easton Hospital School of Nursing. Until her retirement, she worked as a nurse in New York City and at various locations throughout the Lehigh Valley, including Muhlenberg Hospital, the Visiting Nurses Association, and the Bethlehem Area School District at Asa Packer Elementary School. While in Bethlehem, she was a member of Trinity Hecktown Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lower Nazareth Township. An active skier in her younger days, Valerie took up golf at Spring Run, where she played twice a week in a ladies' golf league. She also participated in weekly canasta card games in the clubhouse. Family was the focus of her life both in the Lehigh Valley and Florida. She was an extremely dedicated wife, whom the family jokingly said continued her nursing career as a volunteer, caring for her husband throughout many health setbacks. The couple was rarely apart. She was a proud stepmother to two and a loving nana to six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The walls of her home were filled with photo collages of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and family from four decades of life, many taken at the couple's former vacation home in Surf City, Long Beach Island, N.J. Surviving along with her husband Donald Sr., is stepson Donald Cunningham Jr. and wife Lynn of Bethlehem, PA; stepdaughter Kathleen (Cunningham) Bushong and husband Keith of Lancaster, PA; grandchildren, Bridget (Cunningham) Satkoff and husband Jared of Voorhees, N.J., Shane Cunningham of Allentown, PA, Brendan Cunningham of Brooklyn, NYC, Kyle Bushong and wife Casey of Etters, PA, Kevin Bushong and wife August of Mountville, PA, and Katie Bushong of Lancaster; great-grandchildren, Josie and Jayla Satkoff; sister Lorraine Bleiler of Owego, N.Y., and brother-in-law Dale Hostetter of New Holland, PA. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by a sister, Mae (Bleiler) Hostetter of Fogelsville. Services: A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday August 8, 2025 at Trinity Hecktown Evangelical Lutheran Church, 323 Nazareth Pike, Bethlehem, PA 18020. The family will receive relatives and friends on Thursday August 7, 2025 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden St. Bethlehem and again on Friday from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM in church. Burial will follow at Holy Saviour Cemetery, Bethlehem. A celebration of life memorial will be held from 1:00 PM -4:00 PM on Saturday September 6, 2025 at their retirement community, Spring Run Golf Club Community, Bonita Springs, FL. Val's local arrangements are entrusted to Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, Bethlehem. A memory tribute may be made at www.cantelmifuneralhome.com.