Shelter Island Reporter obituary: Vincent Joseph Cunningham

Vincent Joseph Cunningham, longtime Shelter Island resident, died at home on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. He was 84 years old.

Joe was born on Dec. 22, 1937 in Armonk, N.Y. to Helen M. (nee Riggs) and Vincent J. Cunningham. He was one of two children. After graduating from Armonk High School, he joined the Navy, where he very much enjoyed his job as an airplane captain on an aircraft carrier.

After discharge, he attended Stetson University, majoring in Economics and attaining a Bachelors Degree. He also met and married his love, Christina Kalashnikoff.

After graduation, Joe became a financial analyst on Wall Street before retiring to become a carpenter. Joe and Christina built their home on a hill in Pound Ridge, N.Y., and lived there for 30 happy years. Their children, Natasha and Tom, were born and raised on that hill along with a bevy of pets.

They moved to Shelter Island in 1997 to be near his mother, Helen R. Cunningham, and also near the sea.

Joe loved to sail, almost as much as he loved working on sailboats. He kept his favorite boat close at hand, always available for a little polishing up. 

He also kept current with the stock market, undertook many house-building projects, and until his illness made it difficult, was actively engaged in the community as treasurer of the Friends of the Library, a member of the Heights Board of Directors, and chair of the Water and Wastewater Committee.

He was a gentleman: kind, quiet, and courageous, fighting valiantly against the ravages of Parkinson’s Disease, his family recalled. He was a good neighbor, a sweet husband and a loving father, they said.

Joe is survived by his wife Christina; children Natasha Cunningham (Patrick Welsh) of Arnold, Md.; Thomas Cunningham of Shelter Island Heights; and grandchildren Henry Welsh, Owen Cunningham, Aidan Welsh, Tate Cunningham and Harlan Welsh; his sister Carol Young; and his nephew Hamilton Young.

Choosing to celebrate Joe’s life privately at this time, the whole family gathered to toast him and to tell stories about “grandfather.” A memorial will be scheduled in the spring, and as Joe requested, the family will go sailing to scatter his ashes on the sea.

Donations in Joe’s honor may be sent to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, [email protected], or the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777.