Betty Lou Cummings — a personal and political dynamo who in more than 4 decades in Westport made her formidable mark on nearly every aspect of local life — died Friday night.
She was 90 years old. She and her husband, former IBM executive Tom Cummings, celebrated their 66th anniversary last month.
Betty Lou and Tom Cummings at their 66th wedding anniversary last month.
If there was a job in Westport that needed doing, Betty Lou did it.
She served as second selectwoman, with 1st Selectman Joe Arcudi. (An ardent Republican, she later switched parties and became an equally committed Democrat.) She was also elected to the Representative Town Meeting.
Betty Lou Cummings, outside her home in 2020.
A longtime member of Friends of the Senior Center, she was one of that institution’s staunchest advocates. For years she helped organize an annual Super Bowl party there, complete with Staples High School cheerleaders.
(She had a special fondness for cheer. In 1954, while a student at Michigan State University, she became one of the first female cheerleaders in the entire Big 10.)
Betty Lou founded the Apple Festival. For 20 years she ran the annual autumn event, a fundraiser for CLASP that drew thousands to Staples High School.
Betty Lou Cummings, at the Apple Festival.
She was a lead organizer and fundraiser for 2 Westport Library projects: the Riverwalk along the Saugatuck River, and the River of Names tile mural, which hung in the lower lobby of the building, before renovation.
Betty Lou served on committees celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Staples High School in 1984, and the 50th anniversary of the town’s purchase of Cockenoe Island (2017). She helped organize Westport’s “Random Acts of Kindness Days,” too.
Betty Lou was a proud resident of Saugatuck Shores. She spent 20 years fighting for sewers for the neighborhood.
And every May for decades, Betty Lou took her place in front of Town Hall. She was an ever-smiling judge for the Memorial Day parade.
Betty Lou Cummings, at the 2023 Memorial Day parade. (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
A full obituary will be forthcoming, with information on services and donations in her name.
(In 2011, Betty Lou Cummings recorded a video for the Michigan State University Alumni Association. She talked about her cheerleading experience there. Click below to see.)
To the entire Cummings clan my condolences… I was lucky enough to grow up with Matt and his brothers… Betty Lou you will be forever the lore of Westport..RIP
40 decades or 40 years?
Apologies. 4 decades; 40 years. It’s been fixed.
I’ve been so happy to run into Betty Lou and Tom at the Sherwood diner weekly, sometime multiple times a week! Glad to hug her and see that never ending smile. She was the first person I volunteered alongside of on the first night board. She’s informed my thinking of what it means to be a member of a community and I’m so grateful for her morals and convictions , especially around her political affiliation in the last years of her life. She is, I can not say was, a warrior for family, love and community.
She was such a fixture of our community. Thank you Betty Lou for all of your years of tireless service, love & enthusiasm for our town.
I remember her from the Apple Festival. My Sophomore year in ’82 may have been the 1st one.
My heartfelt condolences go out to all of her family and friends.
Betty you will be missed as a rtm member I am proud to have meet you you always supported the rtm and senior center everything you did was wonderful I will miss see you all the time from sal liccione rtm member from district 9
Betty Lou was a permanent member of the Westport community. I have hopes that her son, Matthew (branch manager at M&T Bank in Westport) will follow in some of her footsteps.
What a woman Betty Lou was! My dad, who has been gone thirty years now and didn’t suffer fools, adored her from the moment they met. (They volunteered together on the Riverwalk project.) I did too. She led a life of love, laughter and service. I saw her at the Friends of the Senior Center board meeting just two weeks ago, and she seemed like her same old self. Full of life. I’m in shock.
We did so many wonderful things together. Betty Lou was special. May her memory be a blessing.
Deepest condolences to the whole family. What a great lady! I will miss your holiday card. So sorry.
Maria Funicello
Tutti’s
So sorry to read this. We go back to the early 70’s..My condolences to Tom, Matt and all the family.
Oh no. I am so sorry to hear this very sad news. Betty Lou had a smile that lit up the world, and a disposition that radiated sunshine and goodness. Many, many years ago, with much compassion, and understanding the importance to my family, Betty Lou helped me create a memorial brick for my late brother. I’ve never forgotten that kindness. And photographing Betty Lou in front of Town Hall each Memorial Day, was a highlight and a delight. Sending my deepest condolences to her family…
Truly sad news. Westport has lost an indefatigable dynamo.
A sad loss for Westport! Betty Lou was an inspiration for being community minded and making an impact. The Apple Festival was my favorite Westport event. RIP Betty Lou!
Oh, so sad. She was a Westport Champion! I worked with her on several things since the 1980s and she was a smart go-getter and an inspiration. Sending condolences to the family
Betty Lou was an indomitable force of good in Westport for as long as I can remember. She will be remembered and missed. May he memory be for a blessing.
She was an amazing person! She will be missed by all!
I did not know her personally but can see from her video and condolences that it was my loss. To have people such as her devoting her energy to Westport and others is truly a blessing. I hope her family has some comfort in hearing how many lives she’s touched for the better
I loved the joy Betty Lou brought to every meeting I saw her at in town. We volunteered together on a few projects and I last saw her at the lobster festival and we talked about how much she loved her boys. Before Matt came to pick her up from volunteering with us, she was telling me stories about her days as second selectman and how she loved making a difference in Westport. Well Betty Lou – you sure did make a big difference and a lasting impression on me. Rest in peace friend. You will be missed by this community 🙏❤️
The real star of the Memorial Day Parade. Every year, in front of town hall, from the podium, observing and judging all floats and groups.
Her “cheer” personality always upbeat and positive radiated in any setting. Her institutional knowledge, gift to deliver results and constant giving…a true loss for Westport, but a life beyond well lived. ❤️she will be missed but always remembered.
Betty Lou was a beloved member of the Saugatuck Congregational Church. I feel blessed to have known her and “done church” with her. Sending so much love to her family.
I am so very sorry to hear this news, and I send my condolences to her husband Tom–her staunchest supporter–and her children and grandchildren. But what a life well-lived!
Betty Lou Cummings was one of the most passionate, selfless, hard-working, charismatic, thoroughly organized, community-minded people I ever have met. In 1997-98, during my term as an RTM Library Trustee, when the “new” (1986) Library building, known disparagingly as “the Leningrad Fish Factory,” was being renovated, structurally stabilized, expanded and opened up to offer river views, I became Betty Lou’s Community Capital Campaign Co-Chair. Our role: to generate community enthusiasm for the new construction and to attract donor support for a new “River of Names” art historical donor tile mural (6’2″ x 24′ 6″), overlooking the Saugatuck River.
Framed by 85 “bookshelf” tiles (each with 10 book spines), surrounding 995 gleaming white river wave tiles, the bas-relief “River of Names” was highlighted by 84 “floating” pictorial tiles (12″ x 12″) illustrating milestones–across nearly four centuries–of the place we now call Westport.
After collaborating on pictorial tile content research with Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Westport Historical Society historians and, on the design, with Artist Marion Grebow, we then “sold” 1,926 donor surfaces on 1,126 bas-relief tiles to townspeople. Literally, as we sat on the main floor of the Library/construction zone with the deafening drilling of steel pilings going on, and library patrons entering to borrow or return books or media, Betty Lou would excitedly greet each person (usually by name) and offer to match them with a donor opportunity.
Who could refuse her? Her genuine love of people and her pride in Westport made her a force of nature.
At the library’s 1998 re-opening, the unveiling of the freshly installed “River of Names” was the center of attention, and, until it was removed less than 20 years later, the mural became a beloved “must see” landmark for visitors, families and children.
Betty Lou, yours was a life of joy, and I’ll always treasure you and the remarkable memories you created!
I had a tangerine Porsche Targa so a friend asked me to drive this lady in the parade so she could hand out apples. Could have been her first one. Anyway she was a hoot ‼️ Beautiful smile and beautiful lady. 🇺🇸
Miss her 😘
My condolences to the whole Cummings Family and to all of Betty Lou’s friends of which there are many.
As time goes on……. we will all remember at the mention of here name that is was synonymous with Joy & Love.
What a special lady.
Betty Lou is the ultimate icon of high energy and
Focused purpose. We should all feel humbled by the example she set. She truly is a significant part of
Westport History.
Bob Yingling and I coached her son on our WLL, National League Majors Rockets team in the 1977 season. Betty Lou (“Mrs. Cummings” to us as we were both 17 year old baseball-geek coaches) was a powerhouse of help and support. She stood above all predictable Little League Mom norms – She was a V-8 engine of helpful energy.
Like many before and later, we forged a friendship at Gault Field, the emerald Saugatuck River jewel featuring the onetime prettiest diamond in all of Westport.
Betty Lou was truly a fantastic lady and beautiful human being.
In later years, long after I moved from Westport, she was simply a joy to encounter every time we bumped into each other.
Mrs. Cummings, Betty Lou…
Beautiful Beloved Westport Cheerleader… Thank You.
Betty Lou and I were co-chairs of the capital campaign for the Westport Public Library some 30 years ago. What a wonderful experience working with this woman who was energetic, always positive, smiling, and enthusiastic. Her spirit was contagious – and still is in my memory of her. She continues to be an inspiration for so many.
Such a loss for Westport! Betty Lou was our perennial cheerleader. She led all of us to our ultimate goals and cheered us on to victory. I worked with her on many projects and it was always fun. Her enthusiasm and devotion were endless. RIP, dear friend. Condolences to her dearly beloved fsmily. Eve Potts=
Our hearts are broken hearing this news. Betty Lou was an inspiration, a force for positive good, a cheerleader for all the right causes, a tireless joy-spreader, and one of the most positive, loving people we have ever known. We have worked with her on various of her pet projects ever since we first met her nearly 45 years ago, because who could say “NO” when Betty Lou asked! She maintained that same energy throughout her life, even when we saw her a few weeks ago! Our condolences to her family and friends in the days to come.
Betty Lou was always the brightest star in the room. She made everyone feel a little better every time you met her. She possessed the magic of Peter Pan. She was Peter Pan.
Leading the 4th of July parade on the Island, the Senior Center, annual Super Bowl party, Memorial Day parade, or as a cheerleader for the MSC football team, she was a bowl full of joy and laughter.
It is very difficult to imagine the Island without her.
Deedy and David Goldstick
Julie (Goldstick) & Robert Haroun
Our deepest sympathies to the Cummings family. We absolutely adored Betty Lou! Her love was felt by everyone and her smile was contagious. She was the “Mayor” of Saugatuck Island, (f/k/a Saugauck Shores) leading the July 4th parade of island residents annually. She will be missed.
The Hauhuth family always looked forward to Betty leading the 4th of July parade! Thanks so much Betty.
Your family in Sweden has very fond memories of you, Betty Lou,
Thank you for everything!
Love from your Cousin Ulla and the rest of the family here.
Betty Lou was Miss Westport for so many years! Involved in making this town a fabulous place to live, she gave herself so selflessly to every committee she chaired or sat on. One of the happiest people I have ever known, she would have Kevin and I in stitches for hours on end. Attended many many charity dinners and events with Betty and Dan- such great times listening to her stories! She helped me get the Cheerleading coaching job at Staples in 1984 which led up to 9 years of coaching the Girls Tennis Team for 9 years after!
Betty Lou was the sunshine in the room, the jokester at any dinner table and a shining superstar in most peoples lives. She will be truly missed.
Betty-Lou (I say in my Looooziana drawl) you brought so much happiness to my life!! God rest your soul. 🥰🌞🍀🙏🏼♥️