Edward vK Cunningham Jr., age 82, of York, Maine died after an extended hospitalization in Boston.

Mr. Cunningham, known to his family and friends as Van, was born in Beacon, New York on April 28, 1935 to Edward vK Cunningham, Sr. and Dorothy Foster Cunningham.

He was a graduate of the Oakwood School, Cornell University and Cornell University Law School, where he was a member of the board of editors of the Cornell Law Quarterly, and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He also served as the President of the Cornell Legal Aid Society.

As a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force Reserve, he went on to serve three years as a B-47 long-range bomber pilot in the Strategic Air Command. He resigned his commission as a Captain.

In 1957, he married his college sweetheart Jean Graham Miles of Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Van began his career as an attorney at the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell in New York City. In 1963 he moved his family to Dutchess County where he joined the Law firm of Van DeWater & Van DeWater. Van served on the Taconic State Park Commission under Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. He served for decades as the attorney for the Town of Fishkill and the Town of LaGrange. He frequently lectured at the Association of Towns convention on environmental law and the law of zoning and planning.

Van served as a director to a number of corporations, including the Marine Midland Bank of Southeastern New York, the Fishkill National Bank and its successors (The First National Bank of the Hudson Valley, Premier National Bank), James L. Taylor Manufacturing Co., Fargo Manufacturing Co., Vassar Brothers Hospital and the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery.

He acted as co-trustee of the Jane W. Nuhn Charitable Trust, a trust for the benefit and advancement of public, charitable, religious, scientific and educational purposes, including the encouragement of arts and music. He was especially fond of the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York. He also supported charitable organizations in the Metropolitan region, including the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Cunningham was a trustee of Cornell University, having been appointed by Governor George E. Pataki.

Van is survived by his younger brother T. Jefferson Cunningham III of Garrison, New York, his younger sister Marion C. Twichell of Ojai, California, his daughter Jennie McManus of Exeter, New Hampshire and his son Edward vK Cunningham III of York, Maine. He is also survived by his two granddaughters Olivia McManus of Chicago, Illinois and Callie McManus of Exeter, New Hampshire. Van was pre-deceased by his wife Jean M. Cunningham in 2017 and his older brother, Foster S. Cunningham in 1978.

The family will hold a private burial at the Fishkill Rural Cemetery on the morning of April 7, 2018. Immediately following the graveside service, a 12:30pm open reception for family and close friends will be held at the Ship Lantern Inn in Milton, New York. Arrangements are under the direction of the McHoul Funeral Home of Fishkill, Inc.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York.