Robert "Bob" Charles Cummings

Bob Cummings was born on July 31st, 1939 in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He was the second of three children born to Franklin and Ruth Cummings.

He joined the Navy in 1958 at the age of 19. After basic training in San Diego, he was stationed in Long Beach, the Philippines, on the USS Brain before spending the majority of his Naval career overseas as a Naval Postal Worker.

While overseas, he met the love of his life, Bette, and married her in Gaeta, Italy in April 1968. While friends in the states were listening to pop music, Bob and his bride would instead take a bottle of wine, bread, and cheese and listen to open air operas in Italy.

In 1969, their first child, Eric was born in Naples, Italy. After living in Italy for a little over a year, they moved to Hong Kong in December of 1969 and lived there for a total of four years. While there, they had their second child, Sharon. In 1974, they moved to Yokosuka, Japan for a little over a year.

In the summer of 1976, the Cummings’ family moved to Port Orchard, Washington. Bob then retired from the Navy after twenty years of service, and sold real estate/life insurance for a short time, before being hired by the Port Orchard Post Office. At the Post Office, Bob had 5 different routes and alternated days; some days he walked while others he drove a mail truck. He loved the variety of his job, his co-workers, and all the people he met on his routes. In addition to delivering mail, he was also very active in the union and served as a union representative.

Bob enjoyed life to the fullest. He golfed, played pool with his buddies, was in several bridge groups, traveled, was always building something as well as loved to talk with both friends and strangers. He was an avid reader who embraced the digital age, especially his ipad, as he could download books for free as well as read newspapers from all around the world. He loved to play cards with his son and daughter-in-law and talk sports with his son-in-law.

Bob was also known to play practical jokes on people. He once convinced one sister-in-law that she needed to change the air in her tires; and other sister-in-law that Old Faithful in Yellowstone had been moved because of the need to install a new sewer system.

After his love, Bette, was diagnosed with cancer, at the beginning of 2015; he spent eleven months taking care of her before she passed away in December. During his last months alive, while talking, he would remark that “I’ve lived a great life; your mom and I had an amazing life together; I have no regrets about our life together.”

Bob was preceded in death by his love, Bette, and his brother Harry. His is survived by his son Eric (April) daughter Sharon (Shawn) and his five grandchildren; Kyle, Kyra, John, Christie, and David as well as his beloved Yorkie, Bubba.