Obituary: Patricia Ann Ferrington-Cunkle

Patricia Ann Ferrington-Cunkle  03/28/1929-12/31/2018

Patricia Cunkle passed away in her sleep on December 31, 2018. She was born in Mooreville, Michigan, on March 28, 1929 and was one of seven children. She loved and married Jack Cunkle from Milan, Michigan, who preceded her in death.

She is survived by her four children, Jacqueline LaPrad (Santa Barbara, CA), Gill Ferrington (Manchester, MI), James Cunkle (Fairlawn, OH) and Ruth Whiteberg (Billings, MT). She also had four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

In addition to her own children, Patricia raised several foster children, from newborns to teenagers while living in Britton, Michigan. She also ran a daycare center for pre-schoolers and taught many infants how to swim. She was a great mom to so many children.

When their own children were grown, Patricia and Jack moved back to the Milan area. Five acres of their new property had nothing on it so they planted 500 saplings from the Forestry Department. Now there is a beautiful five acre pine forest with full grown trees instead of bare land. Gardening was one of Patricia’s passions.

When Jack retired from the Tecumseh products, they moved to Prescott, Arizona. She moved to Las Vegas after Jack’s passing to be with family and help with her grandchildren. She missed Michigan and moved back to Manchester. She lived with and was cared for in her later years by her daughter, Gill Ferrington, in Manchester.

We miss her dearly.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.