Cunningham, Fred and Rose Memorial Fund

Frederick (Fred) Cunningham was born in 1914 and grew up on the family homestead in Perry Township, Indiana. The homestead had been established when his grandparents moved from Ligonier, Pennsylvania to Ligonier, Indiana in a horse drawn wagon. They went north of town, and settled on 100 acres of land. Fred attended Perry Center Elementary School and Ligonier High School. After high school he graduated from Fort Wayne International Business College. He had a competitive personality, but was mild mannered.

Rose Shrock Cunningham was born in 1912 and grew up in Cory, Pennsylvania in a house in town. She moved to Ligonier, Indiana and attended Ligonier High School. She worked at Shrock’s Greenhouse (her father’s shop) for many years, was a talented artist, and was also a correspondent for The News Sun, South Bend Tribune, and Goshen News. She had an opinionated personality and was a very social woman. She and Fred were married on October 25, 1936 in the little town of Churubusco, Indiana. They had three children: Kyle, Kent, and Alice Kay (Mithoefer), and 14 grandchildren.

Their goal in life was to raise their family and be successful in life. Rose was involved in the Good Samaritan, the Noble County Art Association, the Perry Township Home Economics Club, Order of the Eastern Star, and various church functions at the Ligonier United Methodist Church. Fred was on the advisory board for the Perry School when the addition was added; he was on the first West Noble School Board; he was a member of the Masonic Lodge 185; and was also a member of the National Belgian Draft Horse Association.

In an interview with Kent, the founder of this scholarship fund, he said that his favorite memories of his parents were “my mother’s artistic talents and my father’s love for Belgian horses and his love for the kid’s 4-H projects.” He also remembers his dad liking the Chicago White Sox team.

Fred and Rose appreciated Noble County because of the “Noble County Fair, the Noble County Art Association and the farm community atmosphere,” Kent said.