‘A Wonderful Man That Loved Kids’

By Jillian Daley

Bus driver Eileen Davenport admits that she doesn’t miss every coworker who has ever left the First Student bus barn in Hubbard. But, every now and then, a man like Lynn Cunningham comes along who touches her heart. And, now, he’s gone.

“I miss him terrible,” says Davenport, who started her job alongside Cunningham 10 years ago. “He always had a smile even when times were bad.”

Cunningham died on January 7. He was 75, and the Oregon City resident gave to others, unconditionally, his whole life. A retired carpenter, Cunningham returned to the workforce as a First Student bus driver, serving the North Marion community for the past decade. He leaves behind a community both sad and proud to have known him.

One of 40 drivers, Cunningham handled route 1, a longer stretch for more experienced bus operators that winds through the Charbonneau area. 

“Lynn was a great man. … All the kids and parents loved him!” Dispatcher Amy Pine says.

A Giving Heart

Bus driver Sheridan Lee, who worked with Cunningham for about 9 ½ years, says that people adored Cunningham because “he was a wonderful guy” who would always volunteer to pitch in or to lend a tool to other workers. But Cunningham was also no pushover.

“If you had an opinion and he didn’t believe in it, he’d let you know,” Lee says.

Davenport adds: “You may not always like what he had to say, but he was always honest.”

Luz Solorio, who has worked as a bus driver for First Student for five years, says Cunningham was a good worker with a great sense of humor.

“We can say only good things about him,” Solorio says.

Cunningham was genuine, a classic door-holding gentleman who was quick to share lively stories with his colleagues about fast motorcycles. He would often treat his co-workers to pie from Shari’s (coconut cream was his favorite) and would always pull a dollar or two from his pocket for any co-worker’s child who wanted a sweet from the bus barn’s vending machine. As a former carpenter, he took on projects for the office, including crafting a bench.

“Anything you asked of him, he would do,” says Alice James, who manages the bus barn.

He gave what he had his whole life, and he had no intention of stopping. 

A Quilt of Memories

“We asked, ‘When will you retire?’” Davenport recalls. “He said, ‘When I die, I’ll retire.’”

He loved the work so much that he was an active recruiter for First Student.

“He would say, ‘North Marion is the best school district and the best kids,’” bus driver Patsy Dean says. “If you are going to work for a school district, this is the one.”

One day while recruiting, Cunningham spent 90 minutes chatting with Jacob Hathaway about why being a school bus driver was such a rewarding job. Hathaway, who will be in his third year as a bus driver this October, says that Cunningham is the reason that he chose his current position rather than considering a job as a semi driver or postal carrier. 

Hathaway’s 7-year-old son, Lawrence, who was sometimes shy, opened up around Cunningham, who would offer the boy a smile — and a dollar for a candy bar. 

Hathaway recalls that when Cunningham did take a break, he would cluster with his friends and chat about the weather.

“It’s weird that he’s not there,” Hathaway says, looking at the spot by the office where Cunningham used to sit. “He was my grandpa away from my grandpa.”

His colleagues miss him and are taking the opportunity to give back to him. All of his co-workers are personalizing squares of fabric with images and poems that Davenport will stitch into a quilt. Cunningham’s photo will be at the center. 

“It’s more or less a quilt of memories,” Hathaway says.

Dispatcher Terrie Peterson says that Cunningham won’t be forgotten, not in Hubbard, because he was who he was, “a wonderful man that loved kids” and a creator of great memories.

To share stories about North Marion, email Communications Specialist Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us.