Richard Hudner Cummings, age 88, of South Dartmouth passed away peacefully on Thursday June 4, 2015 at Sippican Healthcare Center Nursing Home in Marion, Massachusetts.
Mr. Cummings is survived by his beloved wife, Mildred P. Cummings, to whom he was married for nearly sixty years and his children: Sean Cummings of Tiverton, Rhode Island, Katherine Cummings of Walpole Massachusetts, Michael Cummings and his wife Suzanne of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, and Shawn Cummings and his wife Jenny of Burlington, North Carolina, four grandchildren who will miss him dearly: Katelyn, Patrick, Claire and John Cummings. He is also survived by two brothers Charles R. Cummings of Brattleboro, Vermont, and David Cummings and his wife Eugenia of Westport, Massachusetts, and a number of special nieces and nephews. He was a brother to the late Joseph W. Cummings Jr. and John W. Cummings.
Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Mr. Cummings was the son of the late Joseph W. Cummings, Sr. and his wife Ethel (Hudner) Cummings. He attended Providence Country Day School, and Harvard University before proudly serving his country in World War II as a marine. He finished his education attending Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Mr. Cummings went on to have a distinguished career as a sales manager at Congdon and Carpenter, Inc., with offices in both Providence, Rhode Island and Fall River, Massachusetts.
Mr. Cummings was lifelong member of the Catholic church and a communicant of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in South Dartmouth since 1966. As an expression of his faith, he was happiest when he was serving others. Mr. Cummings volunteered with many local civic and charitable organizations. He loved the time he spent as a little league coach, mentor, member of the Boosters Club, and finance committee member of the Dartmouth School Board. Mr. Cummings volunteered for more than sixteen years for SouthCoast Hospice. He supported the Schwartz Center for Children for more than forty years and loved dressing up as Santa Claus at Christmastime to surprise children at the clinic and throughout the community. Many lives were touched through Mr. Cummings’s kindness and generosity. He was a trusted confidant to friends and family members – always offering a word of encouragement, advice and humor.
Friends may call at the Saunders Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park Street, New Bedford on Monday June 8, 2015 from 4-8 PM and are invited to his Funeral Mass at St. Mary’s Church, 783 Dartmouth Street, South Dartmouth, on Tuesday June 9, 2015 at 9 AM. Burial will follow at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, 2233 Robeson Street, Fall River. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Schwartz Rehabilitation Center for Children, One Posa Place, Dartmouth, MA 02747. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.