Robert Eugene Cummings Sr.

Robert Eugene Cummings, Sr., 83, Huntsville, Ala., died at 9:10 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, at his home surrounded by his family. He was born May 10, 1927 in Houston to the late James William and Helena Lutes Cummings. Mr. Cummings was a retired NASA senior mathematician/statistician for the Apollo program. He worked in the aero-astrodynamics laboratory and was a technical and scientific staff member of the AeroBallistics division at George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Mr. Cummings was a graduate of Clearspring High School. He then enlisted in the United States Army. After serving his country, Mr. Cummings played basketball at Indiana Central University and Florida State University. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from FSU. He attended the University of Florida pursuing his doctorate in mathematics. Mr. Cummings was a 2010 Honor Flight honoree, a member of the FSU alumni association and a 50-year master Mason with Washington Lodge No. 13, Brownstown. He served as an officer for the Huntsville Optimists Club for many years. Survivors include a son, Robert E. "Bo" (Susan) Cummings, Jr. of Huntsville, Ala.; three daughters, Vicki McCurry Armstrong, Carol Ann Cummings and Laura (Tim) Thomson, all of Huntsville, Ala.; the mother of his children, Betsy Russell Cummings; two brothers, Frank (Pat) Cummings and Richard Cummings; two sisters, Betty (Gail) Taylor and Susan (Neal) McCory; six grandchildren, Wes, Michael and Griffin McCurry, Nell and Robert E. Cummings, III, and Robert C. Thomson; seven great-grandchildren, Michael, Jr., Foster, Olivia, Lucy and Wesley McCurry, Xavier Creighton and Kayla Thomson, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a sister, Faye Cummings, and three brothers, Dub, Lee and Tom Cummings. Funeral services were conducted Monday, Feb. 21, at Spurgeon Funeral Home, Inc., Brownstown, with Bishop Neal McCory officiating. Burial was in the Houston Cemetery with military graveside services conducted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1925, American Legion Post 89, DAV 47 and Vietnam Vets 7. Memorials may be designated for the American Heart Association or the Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc.