Celebrating 99 years of Percy Cunningham

“Fresh air and hard work.”

Cunningham hasn’t always had it easy. He claims to have had somewhere around 10 surgeries in his life, including a replacement on both knees.

One accident around four years ago caused him to need two screws put in his neck to keep himself stable, but the operation left him with chronic pain. There was a second surgery the doctors initially told Cunningham they wouldn’t do because, at his age, there was a low chance of survival.

Cunningham came back a few months later, told the doctors to either give him the surgery or put him down. Three months after that, Cunningham was back to bowling and staying active with the people around him.

For his good health and good spirits today, Cunningham credits those around him for keeping him active.

“People are looking after me, everybody’s looking after me, friends and caregivers and all that. They’re all looking after me. That’s how I’m making it,” he said.

Richard Beauliu bowls in the same league as Cunningham, and always picks him up along the way. He said it’s incredible to see how active Cunningham is after everything he has been through.

“He had a fractured neck, and they operated on him. Look at him, like three months later he’s back to bowling again. It’s incredible, like at 94 or 95 when he had that accident. How many 94 or 95-year-olds would recover from something that traumatic?”

Percy Cunningham letting loose his second shot of the day in his usual Tuesday bowling league.

Beauliu added that even when he stops by to pick up Cunningham, he’s still out busy doing something in the yard.

“He lives in his own home and boy, his driveway’s nice and clear and boy, he’s out picking mushrooms out of his lawn and weeding his lawn in the summertime on his hands and knees. Heck, I don’t even do that anymore,” he said.

For Cunningham, keeping his yard clean and tidy is a point of pride.

“I did get help when the snow was real bad, and then I got my own snowblower and the lawn mower, then do all my lawn, garden and everything.”

Along with bowling, Cunningham is a popular fella when it comes to the dance floor. Every Monday, there is a group of seven people that dance together at the Heritage Centre, and Cunningham is the only man out of the group. As a result, he never takes a dance off.

“I used to dance years ago and I like to dance, so it’s good exercise, so that’s where I am.”

Marie Jacobson is always at the Heritage Centre when Cunningham shows up, and she said that he brings in an energy that lights up the entire room.

“He really does. We just love being around him. Like during bowling, for instance, when somebody makes a strike or even just a spare, he’ll just say, ‘Hurray, hurray!’ So we just know where Percy is in the crowd because we can hear that joyous sound from him.”

Cunningham has been retired for the last 45 years, and worked for 40 years including owning a service station out in Waskesiu with his wife Gladys. His wife has since passed away, and he remembers her fondly with many of the vacation trips they took to Alaska, Europe, the Holy Land region around Israel, and many trips down south to the U.S.

With his own boat, Cunningham is still an active fisherman up at Waskesiu Lake. When asked where his favourite fishing spots in the lake are, he was glib with his answer.

“I got lots of fishing spots. They’re all in the lake.”

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Celebrating 99 years of Percy Cunningham

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