A visitation for Douglas (Doug) McArthur Cunningham was held at Labby Memorial Funeral Home in Leesville on Monday, October 30, followed by a graveside service at the Central Louisiana Veterans Cemetery at 11:00 a.m.
Douglas McArthur Cunningham was born on May 15, 1944, in Orville, Alabama to Mamie and Tom Cunningham and was the 10th of 12 children.
Doug moved to Birmingham, Alabama, during his teen years and met his future wife Ida in the 7th grade. He attended Fairfield Industrial High School, where he learned woodworking and upholstery. He married Ida in 1967, and together they had two daughters and two grandchildren during 45 fun-filled years of marriage. He began his Army career at the age of 17 in the Infantry, was a Drill Sergeant, and worked at the Defense Language Institute. Over the next 30 years Doug and his family were stationed in Aschaffenburg, Gelnhausen, and Vilseck, Germany; Ft. Sill, Oklahoma; Ft. Ord, California; and Ft. Polk, Louisiana, and he fought in the Vietnam War. Doug retired from the Army on a Friday as an E9 SGM and went back to work for the Army as a civilian the following Monday, serving for a total of 50 years.
Doug was very creative and spent his spare time making jewelry, building furniture, listening to music (he still had a collection of vinyl records, including 45’s), barbecuing (no matter what the weather was like), and gardening (he did win Yard of the Month). He loved bowling, fishing, playing dominos and Scrabble, and he was VERY proud of his two granddaughters.
Doug is predeceased by the love of his life, Ida, his parents, and his siblings. He was the last living child of Tom and Mamie. Left to cherish his memory are his daughters, Deborah (Mark) Bailey of Asheville, NC, and Devlyn (Roderick) Lorenzen of Charlotte, NC, and his granddaughters, Alexandria Wright and Elise Lorenzen.
