Mark Ashley Cunningham

Mark Cunningham, a man of constant curiosity and devoted husband to Jeanne Engebretsen Cunningham, died June 11, at home in Forresthill, Calif. from an apparent heart attack. He was 71.

Cunningham was born Sept. 22, 1953, at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, but grew up in Avonmore, Pa., 36 miles east of his birth city. He attended high school at Kiski Prep in Saltsburg, Pa. and Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, near Columbus. He briefly worked at Vandergrift Steel Plant, close to his hometown, before moving to California in late 1975, where he resided in Sacramento and Marysville before settling in Forresthill in 1998, the year he married Jeanne, proprietor of Too Much Stuff, a second-hand store in Auburn, Calif.

A career in home building and remodeling began with his move West, including a long tenure at Dale Wells’ Family Construction in the ‘80s, and another at Earl Construction during the ‘80s and ‘90s, working on corporate and residential projects for both companies. He completed his training to become an accredited building inspector in 1997, then took on the role as special inspector for Raney Geotechnical until health issues forced him into early retirement in 2012.

He remained busy in retirement, landscaping and painting in oils and acrylics, but mostly in impressionistic pastel watercolors. A life-long and ardent fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cunningham was also a veracious reader, particularly of history, which contributed to him having a vast knowledge of trivia. But, nothing in later life brought him more joy than his role as “Pap” to Jeanne’s grandchildren Anchor and Avilynn.

Cunningham remained loyal to friends from all chapters of his life: childhood, high school, college and later on. His friends and family already miss his warmth, that twinkle in his eye and his sharp, quick wit.

Mark Ashley Cunningham was preceded in death by his parents Matthew “Ted” Cunningham, Jr. and Maxine Jones Cunningham (both in Avonmore), stepson Joel S. Wilson (Roseville, Calif.) and brother-in-law Steve Sperlik (Greensburg, Pa.) Aside from wife Jeanne, he is survived by sister Susan Cunningham Sperlik (Greensburg); brother Timothy “Tim” Cunningham (Melanie, Medina, Ohio); by step son Aaron C. Wilson (Amy, Roseville), nieces Lauren Testa, Ashley Testa and Casey Cunningham, nephew Collin Cunningham, great nephew Liam Shoemaker and numerous cousins, along with aforementioned grandchildren Anchor and Avilynn Wilson.

A celebration of his life will be held Sunday, July 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM at The Gander Taphouse, 3550 Taylor Road in Loomis, Calif.