Margaret Anne (Terry) Cummings, 93, of Blue Springs, Missouri, passed away Saturday, August 13, 2016 at St. Mary’s Manor. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 16th at Royer-Hays Funeral Home, Blue Springs; burial in Old Scotland Cemetery, Daviess County, MO. The family will receive friends 1 hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Rainbow Center for handicapped children in Blue Springs, or to Southside Church of Christ in Blue Springs.
Margaret Anne was born November 10, 1922, at the Daviess County farm home of her parents, Frank and Lenore (Lindsey) Terry. She was born on her mother’s 28th birthday. On April 5, 1941, Margaret was married Franklin Keith Cummings in Loredo, MO, and he preceded her in death in 2014, after 73 years of marriage.
Also preceding Margaret in death were her father in 1928; her mother in 1962; three brothers: Wendell in 1958, Lowell in 1987, and Charles in 1994; and six nieces and nephews. She keenly felt the loss of each beloved relative, and also friends. Margaret treasured every friendship of her life, both long-term ones, and the more transient ones as well.
Her survivors include two children and their spouses: Anne Cherie and James Walker, and Dennis and Janice Cummings; four grandchildren: Alicia Deanne Bridges (and Scott), Allyn Walker (and Sara), Adam Cummings, and Katherine Cummings; and four great-grandchildren: Clae Allyson & Kobi LeeAnne Walker, and Alaina Deanne & Anessa Drew Bridges. Family was of the utmost importance to Margaret Anne. All major decisions were made with their well-being in mind. Also surviving are a niece and two nephews.
School was a big thing in Margaret Anne’s life. As a five-year-old first grader, she walked 2 miles to and from the one-room Scotland School in Daviess County. Later, she had a Shetland pony to ride. Margaret Anne was Salutatorian of the Gallatin High School Class of 1940. She always liked kids and school, so when her own children were in school, she went to college, earning an AA degree from Kansas City, MO Junior College in 1956, and a BA from Kansas City, MO, University in 1958. She taught first grade at Ladd School in Kansas City for 8 years, and then was awarded a special Experienced Teacher Fellowship for a year of graduate study at UMKC, thereby receiving the MA in 1968. She then taught at James School in Kansas City, retiring in 1981. In school, Margaret Anne always graduated with distinction, being in the upper ten percent of each class. She was a member of the Torch and Scroll (local), Phi Kappa Phi (national), and Alpha Delta Kappa (international) Honor Societies. She was a past President of Beta Mu Chapter, ADK, and a past Regent for the Prairie Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Margaret Anne was a member of the Church of Christ since the age of 13. She loved life, felt blessed to have a long life, and doubly blessed to have an intact family. She had many interests, among them being extensive travels in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.