Carol Ann Cummings

Carol Ann Cummings, having lived a meaningful and impactful life full of love, passed away peacefully from complications due to infection on April 12, 2016 at age 77 in Pinellas County. Carol was born to Kenneth and Barbara Coffing December 17, 1938 in Muskegon, Michigan. Married to Robert Lee Cummings in Indiana on September 6, 1959, she was a devoted and loving wife and mother. Her husband passed away July 14, 1994. Carol is survived by her two sons, Robert Lee, Jr. and Stephen Edward; grandchildren Scott and Kristen Harshman and David Cummings; and younger sister Barbara Jo Stagg and brother Kenneth Carl Coffing.

Full of love, devotion to Christ, and creativity, Carol loved to read, sing, recite poetry, play the piano, and dance as a young child. She was taught and valued industriousness, and worked hard for her family, spending junior high lunch times and 12-hour shift summers working at a family-owned bowling lanes and snack shop, squeezing in a job at a local bank as well. Carol earned bachelor and master degrees in education, and was an accomplished teacher of language arts, mostly at Doe Creek Middle School, where she was twice awarded the Southern Hancock County Teacher of the Year and authored a booklet of oral history, The Ladies of the Riley Home. A newspaper reporting on her teacher award selection said "Cummings is known by students and staff at Doe Creek for her creativity and sense of humor." One of many student-handwritten letters that she treasured stated, "Dear Mrs. Cummings, I would like to take the time to say thanks for helping me out. I know I'm not the best kid in class and I would think that you wouldn't want to help me but you do. I appreciate the way you are very energetic in class. It makes me want to learn more when you're funny about it. Thank you for making class so fun. It makes it easier to learn. Your Pet Monster, Bryan." In 1989 Carol wrote the following poem to express the wonder and honor she felt in making an impact in teaching:

a shy smile of thanks and wiped-away tears after rescue from the playground bullies;

the plethora of sample perfumes and hankies at Christmas time;

the secret note of thanks from the junior high student who truly loved a special story;

the gleam in a student's eye when that difficult concept suddenly becomes clear;

a sincere letter of appreciation from the graduating senior (the one who was the most mischievous in eighth grade!)

Love to a teacher is the promise of the future--

our children

Even as a fulltime teacher, she deeply loved and devoted time for her husband and children. She spent many hours making clothes or crafts for the family, organizing the most special birthdays or holiday affairs (the Christmas Caroling party with her hot chocolate and baked goodies afterwards was a highlight of every year), packing and unpacking the family for camping and boating adventures at Raccoon Lake (where she dealt with emergencies such as sinking boats, tumbling children, and flying burning marshmallows with aplomb), and attending innumerable football and other sport games, music concerts, and swim meets of her active children. She was active in her children's schools and community, serving as president of Greenfield Jayshees, Elks Ladies Club of Greenfield, Greenfield Central Band Boosters, and co-president of US Air Force Academy Parents Club of Indiana. Her devotion to her children is exemplified in the sweet words she wrote to her son Steve on his birthday:

"A Mother's Whimsy.

What is it about birthdays that causes nostalgia to overcome me?

My sons are tall young men, but when did the years disappear?

It seems just a moment ago when they were clad in makeshift capes and masks, clambering under the piano bench and kitchen table, pretending to overcome the villains who ventured to come near.

I remember a little guy dripping watermelon juice all down his chin, while a chubby sweetheart clung to the hem of his blankie as it dried upon the line.

A sandpile in the backyard wreaked destruction on my kitchen floor,

But the sticky hugs and kisses would make a hectic day just fine!

Remember the proud days of wearing a white belt and silver badge which proclaimed "patrolboy"?

I had mixed emotions as I pondered whether my little sons, so small and vulnerable to me, could direct other precious children safely across the busy streets....

What happened to junior high? It's a blur of football games behind the school, helping search out current events in the news, the trauma of the first swim competition, and the argument over which band instrument Mom and Dad thought you should choose....we both survived (the better for it, I think), and I cherish this chance to reminisce on my dear son's birthday."

The words she wrote to her first grandchild show what a caring and devoted heart dwelled in her, and what a powerful prayer warrior she was.

"This season of spring is a beginning, just as you are beginning your life. How I long for love and happiness, security and inner peace, to be yours. But most of all, I want you to love the Lord. Not a day passes without His blessing on our lives--we must be sure to continually praise and thank Him. Tiny boy, already countless prayers have been offered in your behalf....These prayers and thousands more will accompany you through life. Someday your own prayers will be added to mine, but yours will never be lifted alone. Your Grandma's voice and thoughts will eternally be focused on thanks and praise for the God who brought you to her world. Love always, Grandma"

After retiring in 1998, she continued to give to others, moving from her longtime home of Greenfield, Indiana to Clearwater to be with her mother and sisters, eventually caring for her mom and one sister as they battled Alzheimers. Always giving of herself in volunteer work, Carol loved and is loved by a wide circle of friends in church, Alpha Delta Kappa honorary organization of women educators, P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization), Abilities Foundation, and numerous other organizations, and continued to enjoy singing, handicraft work, enforcing the rules of Rummikub, writing and traveling.

Carol considered her greatest accomplishment to be steadfastly loving and praying for her husband, sons and grandchildren. After nearly passing away from a pulmonary embolism in 2008, she wrote the following testimony to share:

"This is what being a Christian means to me-- I am able to give my time, money, and service to grow as a servant of the Lord. Illness has caused me to rely even more on Christ being with me. As I lay in surgery after suffering a pulmonary embolism and other blood clots, my life hung in the balance. The doctors warned my sons that I might not make it. But I know that as they wheeled me in for open-heart surgery that I saw Christ as clearly as could be, at the foot of my bed, and He said, “It will be alright.” And by a miracle I was saved. Now I am living to serve Him however I can."

Her example taught us, and continues to teach us, the value of hard work, self-reliance, and spiritual devotion. She managed the men in her life with overwhelming and ever-forgiving love, even when they all did stupid or self-destructive things. Always gentle, sweet and smiling, Carol never complained of the often unfair difficulties in her life. She wrote to her sons, in giving instructions for her own funeral, "I pray that this [memorial service] might be a witness that I loved God wholly and tried to follow the direction He led me throughout my life on earth and that I believe in everlasting life with Him." She changed everyone she touched in her life for the better, and will be deeply missed and forever loved.

In lieu of flowers, Carol asked that memorial donations be made to Abilities Guild in support of veterans (http://www.abilitiesfoundation.com).

A Celebration of Life for Carol will be at the First United Methodist Church of Clearwater, 411 Turner St., on Monday, April 18 at 10 am.