A Celebration of Life Service for Barbara Ann Cunningham, age 91 of Licking County, will be held at 11:00am on Monday, November 27, at Jersey Baptist Church, 13260 Morse Rd, New Albany, with Pastor John Hays officiating.  Burial will follow in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Barbara went home to be with the Lord in the early hours of November 13, 2023.  She was born on September 23, 1932 in Newark, Ohio to the late Earl J. Ford, Sr. and Clara Lilly Varney Ford.

Barbara married Melvin Cunningham on July 25, 1980 and they have been married for 43 years.  They enjoyed traveling, participating in events with the different organizations they belonged to and having the family over for holiday dinners.

In her younger years, Barbara was a loving stay at home mother committed to her family and the Lord.  She was a woman of faith who instilled in her children at a very early age the importance of faith and love.  Living right next to our church growing up it was non-negotiable as to how we would spend our time on Sundays, as well as other days of the week.  Barbara was a member of the choir, a volunteer during Vacation Bible School, and a devoted member of the Dorcas Society whose mission it was to provide clothing to the poor.  She enjoyed spending time with her church community, extended family and friends and loved to bake fruit pies and custard pies.  She was so proud of her children's accomplishments throughout their lives and enjoyed watching many Boy Scout, Girl Scout, art and 4H projects come to life, as well as being extremely proud of the adults they became.  She loved family visits at the nursing home and seeing all the pictures that were uploaded on her electronic picture frame.

Barbara was a graduate of Newark Senior High School.  She was the youngest of her siblings and the first to graduate in her family.

In addition to being a stay at home mom in her early years, she also began working outside the home and held a variety of positions in the local community.  She worked at the Legend Inn, the Pennsylvania Station and Alibi Restaurants in downtown Newark, and took care of book-keeping for the family business just to name a few.

Barbara and her husband Mel also volunteered at the famous spaghetti dinners at the Teheran Grotto and on voting days you could find her and Mel working at the polls assisting voters.

Barbara was preceded in death by her father and mother Earl J. Ford, Sr. and Clara Lilly Varney Ford; her eldest son John Henry Grubaugh, III whom she loved dearly; brothers, Earl Ford, Jr.; Kenneth Ford; Clifton Ford; Karl Ford; and sister Marjorie Tolliver, as well as her siblings spouses and some nieces and nephews.

She is survived by her husband Melvin Cunningham; three children, sons Dale Grubaugh and Dean (Neisha) Grubaugh; daughter Bev (Jim) Higginbotham; grand-daughters, Mikala Grubaugh; Angela Higginbotham; Alisha (Greg) Schiltz; and Amanda (Nathan) Warner; great grandchildren, Liam Higginbotham, Cameron Schiltz, Livi Schiltz, Lillie Warner, Willow Warner and Violet Warner, as well as many loving nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and Grand-puppies Ellie Mae and Sir Winston Higginbotham.

The family is extremely grateful to the many caring staff members at Embassy of Newark (formerly Newark Care and Rehab and Kindred Health Care).  Every department at Embassy embraced and loved our mother from the Administration Team and Management Team to the Activities Department, Nurses, Aids, the Rehab/Physical Therapy Department, Social Workers, Dietary, Housekeeping, and Maintenance for caring for our mom over the many years that she lived there.  She was loved by many of the staff and we are deeply grateful for all of your assistance, for taking the time to come to her room for a visit, holding her hand when she needed support and giving her hugs and saying goodbye when their work day ended.  She knew how much all of you loved her and it meant a great deal to her and to our family.  You all became our friends as well, and were there for her when we couldn't be.  We will always be eternally grateful for each and every one of you.  We hope you know how much your love and support means to all of us.

Visitation:

Friends and family may call from 4:00 – 6:00pm on Sunday, November 26th and one hour prior the day of the service on November 27 (10:00-11:00am) at Jersey Baptist Church, 13260 Morse Rd, New Albany.