PHILMONT—Rosa P. Cummings of Chatham died peacefully on June 15, 2010, at Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Mrs. Cummings was born November 2, 1911, in Arena, WI, the daughter of the late Rev. Joseph C. and Rosa Moss Peters. She and her mother graduated together from Spring Valley High School in 1929. Mrs. Cummings went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in secondary mathematics from the New York State Teachers College in Albany and a masters degree in mathematical statistics from Harvard University.
She taught high school math in Averill Park.
On June 26, 1943, she married her husband of 66 years, the late Dr. Harold J. Cummings, at Spring Valley. They moved to the Chatham area in the late 1940’s, where they raised their family and were involved in many community activities.
Mrs. Cummings was a member of the First Reformed Church of Chatham for more than 50 years, having served as treasurer and one of the first deaconesses.
She was a member and officer in the former Chatham Women’s Club and the Columbia County Lung Association. For many years, she served as treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Louis F. Payn Foundation in Chatham.
A beloved mother and grandmother, Mrs. Cummings is survived by a son, Steven Cummings and his wife, Dianna, of Greenfield, IN; a daughter, Nancy Hammell and her husband, Art, of Old Chatham; five grandchildren, Christa Cummings, and Courtney Eddy and her husband, Brian, of Greenfield, IN, Ryan Cummings and his wife, Monica, of South Bend, IN, Mark Hammell and his wife, DeLynn, of Union City, CA, and Carrie Torrey and her husband, Adam, of Gainesville, FL; and a great-grandson, Matthew Cummings of South Bend, IN.
Along with her husband, she was pre-deceased by a great-granddaughter, Addison Cummings.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Mrs. Cummings’ memory to the Chatham Public Library, 11 Woodbridge Avenue, Chatham 12037, or CCSTA Scholarship, Chatham Central School, Attn: Judy Matthews, 51 Woodbridge Avenue, Chatham 12037.
Burial was at the Chatham Rural Cemetery, June 19. Arrangements were with the French, Gifford, Preiter and Blasl Funeral Home, 25 Railroad Avenue, Chatham. To send an online condolence, visit www.frenchblasl.com.