Raven R. Cunningham

Raven R. Cunningham, of Melrose, passed away on Tuesday June 23, 2026. She was 24 years of age.

A Letter to My Daughter, Raven

My beautiful girl,

There are no words that could ever truly capture who you were or how deeply you are loved. You were my first baby, my biggest blessing, and the reason I had a purpose in life.

You came into this world on June 4, 2002, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, weighing a big ol’ 9 pounds, 4 ounces. Every chance you got, you’d laugh and talk about the damage your big ol’ head caused coming into the world. Somehow you could make even that story hilarious, and I never got tired of hearing it.

When you were younger, you loved your nightly snuggles and having me sing to you. I’ll never forget how you looked at me when I sang to you, those precious sweet blue eyes looking up at me. I felt so adored by you. Sometimes you would ask, “Just one more song?” or “Five more minutes?”. If I could relive one moment forever, it would be snuggling you longer so you wouldn’t have had to request more time.

You grew into the most compassionate, hilarious, stubborn, sweet, and beautiful young woman. You loved animals so uniquely, the way your Auntie Susie did, sometimes more than people, you’d joke. I believe you found comfort in them because of their lack of judgement and their unconditional love. Your cat, Lety, and your snake, Monet, weren’t just pets. They were family. You spoiled Lety by buying her the cutest toys and taking pride in the way you spoiled her.

You built your own pet-sitting business, and I was so proud of you for creating something that reflected your heart. Every animal trusted you because they could feel how gentle your soul was.

You started at North Shore Community College to study Criminal Justice. That was going to be your way of helping, because helping people that needed it most was important to you.

You were a fiercely protective big sister and adored your younger siblings.

Your little brother adored you back, and you thought he was the sweetest, cutest little boy on Earth. I can still picture you holding him close, snuggling him, loving on him, and him eating it all up and smiling the whole time while looking at you like you were the best thing since sliced bread. The two of you smiling while holding each other, or curled up together watching a show, are beautiful memories I’ll cherish forever. You could tell when he was sad or down and you would come to me and tell me. You worried about him and you wanted him to be and feel happy. You loved him so much.

You and your sister… oh, you two could argue like only sisters can. Who took whose clothes, makeup, or whatever, but underneath every disagreement was an unbreakable bond. You were each other’s safe place, each other’s biggest confidant, and without question, the funniest duo I’ve ever known. The sound of you two laughing together and you two playing together are things I will miss for the rest of my life. I dressed you like twins for quite a while, which was hilarious because you looked nothing alike. Another joke we had for years when y'all were old enough to express how much you hated it.

You even got suspended from school because you had to go get some licks in on someone who was bullying your sister. I understand exactly why you did it and I wasn’t really mad at all. I picked you up and took you to brunch afterwards. You did attempt to handle it differently beforehand, and it wasn’t your fault that school didn’t intervene the way they should have. Loving your family fiercely was simply who you were.

Some of my favorite memories are the ordinary ones that have become cherished memories because you were there. Family movie nights where we all snuggled on the couch with snacks. Birthday celebrations. Going out to nice restaurants together. Sitting around the table laughing until our stomachs hurt. Those memories are priceless now.

You loved giving gifts. You worried endlessly about finding the perfect present and spent far more than you should have because making the people you loved feel special made you happy. That was your heart—always thinking of someone else.

One of the things I admired most about you was the way you noticed the people who others overlooked. The way you hated seeing people being bullied online, most recently a girl you reached out to so you could be a moderator for her and delete the mean comments she got. I remember thinking “that’s my girl.” Several people have reached out and shared stories with me about how you helped them through a dark time, tried to cheer them up, realized they had no friends, and became their only one. You made people feel like they mattered. That is such a rare and beautiful gift.

You were also the funniest person I knew. Your quick wit, your sarcasm, your ridiculous sense of humor—you could make me laugh even on my worst days. You got suspended for spraying fart spray all through MHS and it was so bad, they had to bring DPW into the school because they thought the pipes were busted! Our home was filled with laughter at times because of you.

There are so many things I will miss.

I’ll miss hearing your hilarious laugh.

I’ll miss hearing your laugh from another room and it making me laugh wherever I was.

I’ll miss watching you spoil everyone at Christmas and birthdays.

I’ll miss our rides together to take care of the horses.

I’ll miss our time together on the couch watching shows and our impromptu dates to go get food.

I’ll miss our conversations, your jokes, and simply knowing you were here.

People say time heals all wounds. I’m no longer sure that’s true. I don’t think I’ll ever heal from losing you. I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself or stop questioning myself whether I did enough or what I could have done differently. But I do know that you want us all to keep going, to be happy, to not feel sad or guilty forever, because that’s who you are. You were the most selfless person I know, and I will honor you by reminding people to be more like you.

Raven, thank you for making me your mom. Thank you for reminding me to always be kind because you never know what someone is going through. Thank you for every hug, every precious letter you wrote me, every memory, every lesson, and every moment we shared. Thank you for being unapologetically YOU!

You were, and always will be, loved so deeply so intensely that my heart had to grow to fit all the love I have for you in it. I wish that was enough to keep you here but I promise to now share it with the world.

Until I’m with you again, I will love you every single day.

Raven is the cherished and beloved daughter of Amy Quinn Fuentes. She is the loving sister of Yasmeen Nasya Fuentes and Fletcher McKinley Fuentes aka Bubbah. Granddaughter of Phoebe Fuentes and Glenda Childers. Dear niece of Linnie Long, Mariah Fuentes and Jamie Cunningham and many great aunts, uncles and lots of cousins.

Family and friends are kindly invited to gather and share memories with the family on Tuesday July 7th, 2026 from 4 pm to 6 pm in the Barile Family Funeral Home 482 Main St. (RT28) STONEHAM followed by a Funeral Service Celebrating Raven's Eternal Life at 6. Parking attendants and elevator available.