Francis “Frank” E. Cummings

ummings, 72, passed away at his home Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. A memorial mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 25, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Solon. Inurnment to be held a later date. Memorials may be directed to Iowa City Hospice, Bur Oak Land Trust, or St. Mary’s Church, Solon.
Frank was born Dec. 9, 1949, in Cresco, to Donald and Burnetta Cummings. The family moved to rural LeRoy, Minn., when Frank was in eighth grade. He graduated from LeRoy-Ostrander High School in 1968 and from Westmar College, LeMars, in 1972.
Frank entered the U.S. Army in July 1972. While at home on leave, he married Peggy Larson at St. Patrick’s Church, LeRoy, Minn., Dec. 30. He was then stationed in Würzburg, Germany and Peggy joined him in June 1973, after her college graduation. They often kidded about their three-year honeymoon in Europe.
After Frank was discharged from the Army, he and Peggy settled in Lake Mills. He worked in part sales at Winnebago Industries for two years. Then Frank began a career in production control at Fleetguard Industries for the next 21 years. During this time, he earned APICS certification in production and inventory management.
Frank was also an active volunteer in Lake Mills Ambulance Service as a trained EMT. While in Lake Mills, Frank and Peggy started their family and were blessed with three children: Bill, Becky, and Joe.
Frank eventually moved to Solon, and worked at Pearson Education, Iowa City, in Oracle Implementation until his retirement in 2014. After retirement, Frank and Peggy were able to do some traveling and especially enjoyed revisiting Würzburg, Germany.  Not to become idle during retirement, Frank invested in a stump grinder and started his own business, Corridor Stump Grinding. It was the perfect retirement gig for him as he could make his own hours, work outdoors, meet new people, and receive the satisfaction of a job well done.
Frank lived up to his namesake in always telling it like it is, even to the extent of brutal honesty. His stories and speech were often sprinkled with colorful, folksy sayings. He was proud of his hard-working, farm-boy upbringing which instilled in him a love and appreciation for the outdoors and nature. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, feeding backyard birds, and splitting wood for the fireplace. He was in his glory seated upon his Kubota tractor, using its many attachments for various outdoor projects around his property. Having wrestled in high school and college, Frank was a huge wrestling fan and proud of the Cummings family wrestling tradition. He followed high school tournaments and, of course, Hawkeye wrestling.
Frank is survived by his wife. Peggy; children: Bill (Jen) Cummings; Becky (Joe) Taylor; Joe (Amy) Cummings; grandchildren: Bella and Sean Cummings, Bryce and Sydney Taylor; sisters: Kathryn Dunagan, Rita (Jim) Vodraska; brothers: Dave (Tari) Cummings, Dan (Debra) Cummings; brother-in-law, Larry Ryan; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Burnetta; his sister, Donna Ryan; and his brother-in-law, Bob Dunagan.