Carmon Cunningham, 62, Formerly of Newton

Obituary courtesy of Eaton Funeral Homes

Carmon Cunningham was a loving father, husband, brother and friend.

Carmon was born on May 30, 1954 to Melvia and Roosevelt Cunningham in Portland, Oregon. He attended John Adams High School, graduating in 1972, before getting his Bachelor's Degree in Economics at Pacific University in Oregon in 1976. During his time in college, he was known for starting the Concerned Black Students Organization and serving as its President, and also for his role as a DJ for the college music radio station.

Carmon worked and lived in Portland Oregon as a business professional for several years, first at Xerox Corporation and then for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) starting in 1980.

He became the proud father of his son, Dante Cunningham, with Estena Simms in 1983. He moved to Boston as part of a promotion with DEC in 1987 and settled in Ashland, MA. He received his Masters in Business Administration from Boston University in the Executive MBA program in 1991. In 1995, Carmon became the Director of Alumni Relations for the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, he met his wife, Paula T. Hammond Cunningham, in 1997 and they married on September 9, 2000 and moved to Newton, MA; at that time, Carmon became stepfather to James Hammond. Carmon became the Vice President of Communications and Technology for the Boston non-profit, Jobs for the Future (JFF), in 2000, and as a part of his job there, he worked toward the organization's mission to increase the education and training level of young adults through and beyond high school to ensure them better earning job opportunities.

After seven productive years at JFF, Carmon became an entrepreneur, and opened the Cleaner Spot, a dry cleaners located in Wilmington, MA. The Cleaner Spot has three locations including offices at the World Trade Center in Woburn, and it has been rated the number one dry cleaners in Wilmington and in the region consecutively for the past three years. He was highly loved and respected by all those in the Wilmington community with whom he worked, and from 2013 through 2014, he served as the President of the Chamber of Commerce for Wilmington, and was on the Board of Directors of the Chamber for the past 5 years.

Throughout his lifetime, Carmon consistently gave back to his local and professional community. In Boston, he was heavily involved in Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts since its inception in 1988, an organization that reaches out to young boys of color and provides them mentorship and training through the Paul Robeson Institute for Positive Self-Development (PRI). He was President of the Boston Chapter of the National Black MBA Association. He has served as a Board Member for Thompson Island Outward Bound and the Big Brothers Association. After years of membership at St. Paul AME Church, in 2010, he and Paula joined the Old South Church and have been close members of the faith community.

Carmon is survived by his wife, Paula, his son Dante Cunningham and daughter-in-law, Rathana Bun, his stepson, James Hammond, his mother, Melvia Cunningham, and his two brothers, Gerald and Derwin Cunningham. He also leaves behind several cousins, nieces and nephews, and multiple friends from every phase of his life, all of whom were blessed by his presence in their lives.

A Funeral Service will be held in Boston's Old South Church, 645 Boylston St., Boston on Tuesday, June 28th, at 2PM. Visitation will be held from 1-2PM prior to the service. A reception to celebrate Carmon's life will be held in the Gordon Chapel immediately follow the service until 5PM. In lieu of flowers, please kindly send a donation to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay.