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.)
