Gregory William Cunningham

Gregory William Cunningham

September 23, 1955 – July 5, 2026

With deep sadness, we announce that our beloved Gregory William Cunningham (Greg) passed peacefully on July 5th, surrounded by loved ones, after a recent cancer diagnosis.  Greg was born to Margery and Robert Cunningham in San Francisco in 1955, the fifth of eight children raised in a lively and intellectual family home in the Sunset District.  He was a life-long Bay Area resident and lived in Mill Valley from 1992 to 2026.  

Greg attended grammar School at St. Monica’s, graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in 1973, and received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1978, where he became enamored with energy efficiency.  Greg went on to earn his Master of Environmental Planning, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, from Arizona State University in 1981, and became a licensed architect and a pioneer in the field of energy efficiency. 

Naturally independent, Greg started his own firm, Cunningham Associates, in 1986, selling it in 1996 to ESS Engineering and becoming an equity partner and director in successor companies.  In 2002, Greg’s entrepreneurial spirit led to his co-founding Enovity, an engineering and architecture firm that specializes in energy efficiency, sustainability, and operations and maintenance of commercial buildings.  He remained at Enovity through two acquisitions until his retirement in 2018.  

Greg’s love of travel and adventure began with childhood camping trips and cross-country drives, packed into a VW bus with his seven siblings.  His fascination with travel grew when he journeyed at the age of 16 to visit his uncle in Saudi Arabia (where he learned to scuba dive), with stops in Europe and Lebanon along the way.  At the age of 30, Greg made a pivotal decision to pause his career and invest his life savings in a year-long solo trip around the world, with focus on scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, hiking in the Himalayas, photographing his adventures and meeting locals and fellow travelers along the way.  He spent extended time in New Zealand, Australia, Bali, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Turkey.  Greg shared his passion for travel by showing his daughter the world, alongside his former wife, believing that the greatest education came from experiencing new places, cultures, and people.  He returned to Europe and Asia several times, and especially enjoyed traveling with his partner Susan over the last ten years, most recently to Australia, Bali and Japan. 

Greg had a creative side, as well as a methodical bent, with a propensity for life-long learning, meticulous research and continuous improvement, which he brought to all his interests, including architecture, travel, music, classic (especially Italian) cars, golf, Warriors basketball and pottery.  He designed remodels for his home and the homes of his mother and sisters.  His musical tastes were influenced by the San Francisco music scene of the 1960’s and 1970’s, and a love of great guitarists.  After an exhaustive and enjoyable search, he bought a 1967 Ferrari 330 GT, making a long-held dream come true.  In later years, Greg planned golf trips with friends to classic golf courses around the U.S. and in Scotland, Ireland and England.  He was an avid fan and season ticket holder of the Golden State Warriors, an enthusiasm he passed on to all of his loved ones.  In retirement, Greg found a new vocation, devoting many hours to becoming a skilled potter, throwing beautiful and unique pieces that family and friends admire and treasure.  He also passionately pursued learning to fly, taking fly fishing trips, painting, photography and trying his hand at writing fiction.  In most recent years, he found great joy in visiting his beloved two-year-old grandson in San Diego and taking him on beach walks.

Greg is survived by his loving partner Susan Hill; adored daughter Isabella Cunningham, son-in-law Jimmy Callinan and grandson Leo Callinan; his siblings Mary Christine, Michael, Sheila (Mark Kenney, deceased), Mark, Gini (Michael Baefsky), Roberta (David Nelson) and Lisa (John Hettinger); his many nieces and nephews; and his former wife, Lauretta Zucchetti.  He is also remembered with love by Mark, Morgan and Madeline Hill.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his infant brother David.

Please join us for a funeral mass on Saturday, July 25th, at 11:30 am at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 3 Oakdale Avenue, Mill Valley, with a reception to follow.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION IN GREG’S MEMORY TO UCSF LUNG TRANSPLANT GIFT FUND,  https://giving.ucsf.edu/fund/lung-transplant-fund.  We are grateful for the gift of life Greg received through his transplant in 2021.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Gregory William Cunningham, please visit our floral store.