Obituary for James Murray "Jim" Cunningham
Jim Cunningham
Feb. 7, 1950-Jan. 27, 2021
Jim Cunningham, treasured husband of Elsie Ross and father of Ian Cunningham, died suddenly on Jan. 27, 2021, just short of his 71st birthday. He will be sorely missed.
A journalist, teacher, student of politics, a devotee of baseball and college basketball, a news junkie, a husband and father, he was a man of many talents and interests.
Jim was born Feb. 7, 1950 in Regina, Saskatchewan, the eldest of three children. The family moved to Rocky Mountain House in 1959 when his father accepted a call to Memorial Presbyterian Church.
A voracious newspaper reader from an early age, Jim got his start in professional journalism working as a “desker” at the Red Deer Advocate, editing stories and laying out pages. While a skilled editor, he confessed that he envied the reporters who actually got to cover the stories.
Jim joined The Advocate after graduating from the University of Alberta following two years at Camrose Lutheran College where he had worked on the college newspaper.
In 1978, he joined The Calgary Herald as a copy editor, following his new wife, Elsie Ross, who had worked as a reporter at The Advocate and who had been hired by The Herald in the same position. Over the years, Jim worked in a number of positions, including as city assignment editor and editorial board.
However, it was his beat as a political reporter that Jim truly loved and in which he thrived. Working out of the Herald’s legislature bureau in Edmonton, he reported on the Conservative governments of Don Getty and then Ralph Klein. He also reported on federal politics, covering the early days of the Reform and Alliance parties under Preston Manning, on occasion earning the ire of the Reform leader.
Jim was especially proud of the investigative work he did on cuts to health care and hospitals in Calgary during the Klein years.
Although Jim’s newspaper career ended following a strike at The Herald during which he served as treasurer of the union, SAIT was quick to snap him up as a journalism instructor. There he spent the next 20 years, teaching and mentoring students and fellow instructors, picking up an Instructor of the Year in ICT award.
Jim was dedicated to his job as a writing or research instructor, spending many evenings and weekends marking student reporting assignments, listening to his favourite jazz. When SAIT switched to online learning, he was eager to learn how he could improve the experience for his students.
A man of quiet faith, Jim was active in Northminster United Church, including a stint as chair of the board. As he had for his father, from time to time Jim would preach a sermon when the minister was away. While an engaging preacher, he did not take kindly to the suggestion from a close family member that perhaps his sermons might be a bit shorter.
Jim also was a diehard baseball fan – his team was the San Francisco Giants — and spent many summers committed to a fantasy baseball league, managing his team, The Pork Barrels, and serving as league commissioner. One of his fondest memories was of a trip to California with some of his fellow team owners, for a Giants game.
In recent years, Jim also had enjoyed the spirited discussions and conversations in his book club of former Herald staffers.
Jim also is survived by his brother, Allan and sister-in-law, Sheena in Calgary and sister, Grace Cunningham, in Red Deer, along with seven nieces and nephews.
Due to COVID, we cannot meet in person but for those who want to attend we will hold a virtual funeral on Facebook Live on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m.
Please see the link to the livestream here:
Jim Cunningham’s Service
For those unfamiliar with Facebook, you do not need to sign in, simply keep scrolling down.
Feb. 7, 1950-Jan. 27, 2021
Jim Cunningham, treasured husband of Elsie Ross and father of Ian Cunningham, died suddenly on Jan. 27, 2021, just short of his 71st birthday. He will be sorely missed.
A journalist, teacher, student of politics, a devotee of baseball and college basketball, a news junkie, a husband and father, he was a man of many talents and interests.
Jim was born Feb. 7, 1950 in Regina, Saskatchewan, the eldest of three children. The family moved to Rocky Mountain House in 1959 when his father accepted a call to Memorial Presbyterian Church.
A voracious newspaper reader from an early age, Jim got his start in professional journalism working as a “desker” at the Red Deer Advocate, editing stories and laying out pages. While a skilled editor, he confessed that he envied the reporters who actually got to cover the stories.
Jim joined The Advocate after graduating from the University of Alberta following two years at Camrose Lutheran College where he had worked on the college newspaper.
In 1978, he joined The Calgary Herald as a copy editor, following his new wife, Elsie Ross, who had worked as a reporter at The Advocate and who had been hired by The Herald in the same position. Over the years, Jim worked in a number of positions, including as city assignment editor and editorial board.
However, it was his beat as a political reporter that Jim truly loved and in which he thrived. Working out of the Herald’s legislature bureau in Edmonton, he reported on the Conservative governments of Don Getty and then Ralph Klein. He also reported on federal politics, covering the early days of the Reform and Alliance parties under Preston Manning, on occasion earning the ire of the Reform leader.
Jim was especially proud of the investigative work he did on cuts to health care and hospitals in Calgary during the Klein years.
Although Jim’s newspaper career ended following a strike at The Herald during which he served as treasurer of the union, SAIT was quick to snap him up as a journalism instructor. There he spent the next 20 years, teaching and mentoring students and fellow instructors, picking up an Instructor of the Year in ICT award.
Jim was dedicated to his job as a writing or research instructor, spending many evenings and weekends marking student reporting assignments, listening to his favourite jazz. When SAIT switched to online learning, he was eager to learn how he could improve the experience for his students.
A man of quiet faith, Jim was active in Northminster United Church, including a stint as chair of the board. As he had for his father, from time to time Jim would preach a sermon when the minister was away. While an engaging preacher, he did not take kindly to the suggestion from a close family member that perhaps his sermons might be a bit shorter.
Jim also was a diehard baseball fan – his team was the San Francisco Giants — and spent many summers committed to a fantasy baseball league, managing his team, The Pork Barrels, and serving as league commissioner. One of his fondest memories was of a trip to California with some of his fellow team owners, for a Giants game.
In recent years, Jim also had enjoyed the spirited discussions and conversations in his book club of former Herald staffers.
Jim also is survived by his brother, Allan and sister-in-law, Sheena in Calgary and sister, Grace Cunningham, in Red Deer, along with seven nieces and nephews.
Due to COVID, we cannot meet in person but for those who want to attend we will hold a virtual funeral on Facebook Live on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m.
Please see the link to the livestream here:
Jim Cunningham’s Service
For those unfamiliar with Facebook, you do not need to sign in, simply keep scrolling down.