Charles (Chas) Cummings of Bristol, a well-known artist and former principal of Tiverton Middle School, died Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at Vibra Hospital in New Bedford. He was the husband of Edwina …
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Charles (Chas) Cummings of Bristol, a well-known artist and former principal of Tiverton Middle School, died Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at Vibra Hospital in New Bedford. He was the husband of Edwina (Serafin) Cummings.
Born in Fall Rxiver, the son of the late Charles H. Sr. and Irene (Turner) Cummings and the brother of the late Judith (Cummings) Barker, and Janet Cummings, he had lived in Bristol since 1990 and previously had resided in Tiverton for 25 years, and before that in Fall River.
Mr. Cummings had a long and distinguished career as an educator, artist and newspaper compositor and was an avid sportsman.
He was a graduate of Rhode Island College, where he received a B.S. in education and a Certificate of
Advance Graduate Study (CAGS) in Education Leadership. He received his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Bridgewater State College.
Before attending college, he completed a six-year apprenticeship in newspaper composition and worked at that trade for 20 years, first for the Fall River Herald News, where he served his apprenticeship, and then for the Providence Journal/Bulletin, where he ran the Composing Room News desk on weekends.
In addition, he studied art at Rhode Island School of Design and the Famous Artists Schools of Westport, Conn. He was a 1952 graduate of B.M.C. Durfee High School.
Before becoming principal, he was assistant principal of Tiverton High School for many years, and before
that he was a teacher and administrator at Bristol Plymouth Regional Vocational School in Taunton, Mass.
Chas Cummings was a well-known watercolor artist and exhibited extensively throughout the New England area, where his paintings won a number of awards. His paintings are in the collection of many local people as well as throughout the country.
Mr. Cummings was an active Signature member of the New England Watercolor Society, Rhode Island
Watercolor Society, Bristol Art Museum, Fall River Art Association, and a founding member of the Alt
League of Rhode Island. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Watercolor Society,
The Fall River Art Association, and on the Exhibit Committee for the Bristol Art Museum.
An avid sportsman, he had been a member of the Fall River Country Club.
He enjoyed sailing and had built his own sailboat. In his earlier years Mr. Cummings had been a team captain in the former Fall River Tennis League.
In the 1950s and ’60s, he served with the Massachusetts National Guard in Fall River for eight years, and the Army Reserve for one year. He also played for the National Guard’s Basketball Team.
Besides his wife, Mr. Cummings leaves a son, Dr. Charles H. Cummings III of Fall River, Mass., with a practice in Tiverton, and a daughter Ellen L. Cummings Ivaneza of New Caanan, Conn.; five grandchildren, Julia Grace, Anya Elise, Charles H. Cummings IV, Conrad Ivaneza, Lachlan Ivaneza; and a son-in law Peter Ivaneza, and Ediberto Bellizzia.
His funeral will be held Saturday, April 6, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. from the SMITH FUNERAL and MEMORIAL SERVICES, 8 Schoolhouse Road, Warren, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Mary of the Bay Church, 645 Main St., Warren.
Burial will be private.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Calling hours are Friday, April 5, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Gifts in his memory may be sent to Smile Train, 633 Third Ave., 9th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017.