Philip Tracy Cunningham – Commander, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report:

Philip Tracy Cunningham, Commander, United States Navy (Retired) and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Microdyne Corporation, Alexandria, Virginia, died suddenly November 6, 1999 at his home in Alexandria.

Mr. Cunningham was the son of the late Daniel T. Cunningham and Hilda Bedingham Cunningham. Born in Washington, DC, and raised in New Jersey, he was a graduate of Holy Cross (BS) in 1959 and Harvard (MBA) in 1968. In the last years of his life, he spent his summers in his Watch Hill, Rhode Island, home, where he was active in community affairs and a member of the Watch Hill Yacht Club and The Lighthouse Kepers Association. He is survived by his wife, Lizanne Stahnke Cunningham, their twin children, Daniel and Jacqueline; his first wife, Mary Lou Riggio Cunningham and their four children, Elizabeth Cunningham of Clinton, NJ, Maura Cunningham Spaeth of Cos Cob, CT, Katharine Cunningham of Fairfax, VA and Sheila Cunningham Donaldson of Fairfax, VA; two grandsons, Joseph Morano and Noah Spaeth of Connecticut and a sister, Mrs. Matthew Kelley of Pennsylvania.

A funeral service will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 310 S. Royal St., Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 10 a.m. Private interment in Arlington National Cemetery on November 19, 1999. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the Campagna Center, 418 S. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314.

Philip T. Cunningham,  November 6, 1999,  at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. Prior to his retirement in 1998, Mr. Cunningham had been chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Microdyne Corp. of Alexandria

A retired commander, he had served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years. Following his retirement from the military in 1979, he founded Basic Technology Corp. in Alexandria. After selling the company, he started the Federal Technology Corp., serving as chairman of the board and president; the company name was later changed when the Federal Technology Corp. absorbed the Microdyne Co. of Florida. He is survived by his wife Lizanne; a son; five daughters; a sister; and two grandsons.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard