* Jesse Olin Cunningham; Retired JPL Worker

Jesse Olin Cunningham, retired senior administration assistant for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died Thursday. He was 92.

He was born on May 27, 1907, in Union Township, Pa., and attended school there.

Cunningham joined the Navy in 1931 and served six years. He was assigned to a submarine service support vessel and worked in optics, specifically repairing the periscope. In the Navy, he visited the Panama Canal, Alaska and many ports in the Pacific.

After moving to California, he purchased jewelry stores in Pasadena and La Canada.

In 1953, Cunningham went to work for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. While there, he visited schools and lectured on the space program and astronomy.

He was married in 1971.

Five years later he and his wife, Peggy, retired and moved to Ventura. They were both active at the Ventura Missionary Church and were members of the Silver Tones Choir. He also taught Sunday school at the church.

As members of a senior group at the church, they organized trips and cruises for members to Alaska, Canada and other sites in the country.

He had been a member of the Toastmasters and Kiwanis Clubs and was active in a gardening club.

Cunningham was preceded in death by his wife.

He is survived by a stepson, Robert Brown of Alta Loma; a sister, Esther Iona Hoggs of Idaho; two daughters, Marian Cunningham of Washington and Kathryn Janus of Oregon, and six grandchildren.

Visitation is scheduled today from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Ted Mayr Funeral Home in Ventura.

Services are scheduled for noon Thursday at the Ventura Missionary Church in Ventura with Rev. Leonard DeWitt officiating. Burial will follow at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.