Mary Evelyn “Mary Lyn” Barnes Cunningham, 37, of Beaumont, and formerly of Clarksville, Tennessee, died Friday, March 6, 2009, in Beaumont as a result of a brain tumor.
At the time of Mary’s death she was employed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and was formerly with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Mary was a 1989 honors graduate of Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she was president of her school Y-Teens and a member of the National Honor Society. Mary was a 1993 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
She is survived by her husband, Greg Cunningham of Beaumont; parents, John and Susan Barnes of Nashville, Tennessee; sister, Jane “BJ” Kleinhans and her husband Chris; very special nephew, Joey Kleinhans, all of Ft. Polk, Louisiana; sister-in-law, Nancy Lanham of Charleston, West Virginia; brothers-in-law, Larry Cunningham of California, Jeff Cunningham of Charleston, West Virginia; stepdaughter, Rachel Cunningham of Huntington, West Virginia; stepson, John Cunningham of Buffalo, West Virginia; her beloved shelter dogs, Adelaide and Larry; and the hundreds of children she shepherded through the foster care systems of Texas and Tennessee. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Louie and Mozelle Gilbert of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Ralph and Agnes Barnes of Blountville, Tennessee.
Memorial service will be 1:00 p.m. Monday, March 9, 2009 at Broussard’s Chapel, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont. A gathering of family and friends will be Monday, March 9, 2009 beginning at noon until service at the mortuary.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Humane Society of Southeast Texas, 2050 Spindletop, Beaumont, Texas 77705.
