Delores Marie Cummings

Delores Marie (Grover) Cummings, 81, was born June 27th, 1940 near Protection, Comanche County, Kansas to Everett Mitchell and Ida (Harmon) Grover. The youngest of four daughters, she deeply loved her older sisters Alice, Lois, and Mary. As a child her parents moved to Baca County Colorado where her father was a farmer. Growing up, Delores loved to play with her dolls, and her love of dolls continued throughout her life. as she became older she was given a guitar. She loved playing the guitar and singing. Her children still have that same guitar. Delores excelled in school and graduated from Springfield High School, Baca County, CO May 23, 1958. She met and fell in love with Russell Lee Cummings there in Springfield. They were united in marriage March 24th, 1959 and were together for 62 years, until her death. Four children were born to them, a son Marty Lee Cummings born March 31st, 1960, and three daughters Jani Marie Rutliff born September 15th, 1961; Audra Leone Cummings born November 17th, 1965, and Janeen Rose Milner born November 19th, 1970. They eventually moved to Russell's homeland in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri where they made their permanent home. Delores enjoyed being a homemaker and mother but was also a very hard worker. She had several jobs, which included working for the garment factory in Ozark, MO and teaching preschool at Calvary Baptist Church, Nixa MO. A big part of her work started when her husband Russell started Cummings Trash Service in Nixa. At the beginning, she would drive the flat bed truck while Russell picked up the trash bags. Later she did only secretarial work for their business, but who can blame her for that, right?? Although she did much, her favorite work was teaching the children at the preschool. She loved those children, and still had contact with some of them even in recent years. Delores made a profession of faith and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior in Springfield CO in 1960. Her and Russell joined Calvary Baptist Church in Nixa and made it their church home. They always made sure their children attended church and heard God's word. They attended church faithfully until the decline of their health prevented them from doing so. Even when in the nursing home, one of the hardest things for them both was missing church. All four of their children have made a profession of faith, also accepting Jesus as their Savior. Russell and Delores always shared their belief with their grand children and family, and if you were at their home on a Sunday, you attended church with them. Delores' faith was always very important to her. All the way up to, and even after her death, people told of her concern of whether or not they knew the LORD, and how she would witness to them. Patriotism was also important to her. She put God first, family second, and never forgot to love our country. She taught her children these priorities, along with a couple of important rules for her children and friends to remember: never cuss, and never drink or bring alcohol into her home. If you forgot, you were quickly reminded, or made to feel very uncomfortable; you might even be asked to leave in the nicest way possible. However, she was always quick to forgive too. During her life she was very creative. She was a seamstress and not only made clothes and home decorations, but would also make some of the cutest clothing for her daughters and granddaughters dolls; something they took great delight in, and so did she. She made designs and plans for the homes she built with Russell, and yes, they remained married through the building of them; something she could laugh about in later years. She did oil painting for a time, and loved it. Her children still have the beautiful paintings she created. Although she never finished it, she started writing a book about her mother's life and the hard times they faced during the dust bowl. Delores had a very special place in her heart for music and singing. She had a beautiful voice and could sing lead or harmonize. She would often do this while playing her guitar, however, it was never a surprise to hear her singing at home, church, or in the car. She would sing and harmonize with anyone, and especially loved singing with her family. She passed her love of music down to her children, and enjoyed having music parties at their home, where family and friends would do some "picking & grinning" too. During one of her darkest times when ill, her daughter Janeen was washing and drying her hair while singing to her. Delores jumped in, singing right along. A couple weeks before her death, Janeen and Audra were visiting her and their dad at the nursing home. She mentioned a song to them so they started to sing right there in the hallway and Delores joined in with smiles. It was the last time they heard her sing. Anyone that knew Delores knew she was competitive. Playing games with her could be very intimidating but she sure did like having fun! She was a huge prankster and would go out of her way to make the prank go just right. There were nieces that stayed with Aunt Delores and Uncle Russell while attending Baptist Bible College, and they also hosted two Japanese exchange students through 4-H for a month each. Her and Russell loved going places, traveling, and camping. There were many times they would load the children up to go camping, get settled at the campsite, and Russell would drive back to haul trash for the week, before joining them again at the campground. They continued doing this with their grandchildren, and boy oh boy the stories they could tell!! They had many good friends and would camp, travel, and go floating with them and their families as well. RV-ing with her three sisters and their husbands was great fun for Delores and Russell, and many great memories were made. Although her sisters mostly lived a distance away from her back in Colorado, she always made the effort to visit and see them as much as possible, and they did the same. She loved her sisters profoundly. Known as "Granny" by many, she cherished her grandchildren. Her children would often tease that she loved the grandkids more than her own children, (probably true), and we all know how special those grandchildren and great grandchildren are. She kept them close to her heart until the day she left this world. Delores' love was returned by her family. She was a loved daughter, sister, wife, and friend. She was a beloved mother, cherished grandmother, and auntie. Her friends loved her and were friends for life. She was sweet, kind, funny, compassionate, and had the most infectious smile that she wasn't ashamed to share. She was also a great encourager to others. Many lives were touched by her and will not be the same in her absence. She is preceded in death by her parents, her son Marty Lee Cummings, and two sisters Alice Lacy and Lois Lacy. She is survived by her husband Russell Lee Cummings Nixa MO, children Jani Marie Rutliff Nixa MO, Audra Leone Cummings Nixa MO, and Janeen Rose & Bill Milner Galena MO. A sister Mary Ellen Lacy Lamar CO, and a brother-in-law Dallas Dean Cummings Walnut Shade MO. Grandchildren: Chrissy White Marionville MO, Jarod Rutliff El Dorado KS, Linda & Chad Campbell Springfield MO, Russell & Calees Sewell Buffalo MO, Rusty & Mika Cummings Nixa MO, Jacob & Melodee Rutliff El Dorado KS, Zachary Cloutier Nixa MO, and many great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, November 13, 2021 at Calvary Baptist Church, Nixa, under direction of Adams Funeral Home, Nixa, with Pastor Derek Eckels officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Walnut Shade. Visitation will be from 5-7 P.M. Friday, November 12, 2021 at Adams Funeral Home, Nixa.