Mary Cummings

Mary Cummings, age 88, died on Thursday, March 28, 2024.  She was living at Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains, and previously resided on Mayflower Avenue in the Bronx, NY for nearly 70 years.  

Mary was born on October 24, 1935 to Patrick and Margaret (nee Joyce) Cummings.  Six weeks after she was born, Mary’s mother Margaret passed away leaving Patrick a single father of two daughters under the age of 14 months.  With the help of Margaret’s sister Bea and her sister-in-law Celia, Patrick raised his daughters on West 90th Street in Manhattan.  Tragedy struck the girls again when their father died in January of 1952.  They moved from Manhattan to Mayflower Avenue in the Bronx with their Aunt Bea and Uncle Willie.  At the time she moved to the Bronx, Mary was attending Cathedral High School on Lexington and 50th in Manhattan.  Mary continued to commute via trains and buses to Manhattan for the rest of her high school years graduating in June of 1953.  

After graduating, Mary went into nursing earning her RN from Fordham Hospital.  After she earned her nursing degree, she took a job with the City of New York Health Department.  Her original intention was to stay for only two years.  Two years turned into more than 40.  Mary continued with her education and went to night school at Hunter College earning her Bachelor of Science in June of 1963.   In 1972, New York Hospital/Cornell University in conjunction with the New York City Department of Health started a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program – the first in New York City.  Of course, Mary applied and was accepted into the initial class of 15 nurses in the program.  Mary was still not done with her learning.  She eventually enrolled in Long Island University where she earned her Masters in Community Health/Health Management.  

In Mary’s 40+ year career with the New York City Department of Health she held many different roles with increasing responsibilities.  All of them were to help the children and mothers in the Bronx.   Just the week of her passing, she was telling the nurses at the hospital that she only planned on staying in public health for two years but instead never left because she loved it.  The smile on her face was evidence to that.  Of course, that smile was always on her face.   Through all the challenges she had over the last couple of months, she faced them with the same smile.  

Traveling was something that Mary enjoyed tremendously and did frequently.   Her first trip was to Ireland in 1958.  Mary and her sister went to visit their extended family and spent six weeks visiting their parents’ family.    Whether it was a road trip to visit cousins around the country, vacationing with Buddy, Kay and their kids at Shawnee every year, multiple cruises with her good friend Marie, trips to Hawaii (although she still owes Mary and Ricky their graduation trip), the Dominican Republic, or her most recent trip in 2023 to the Outer Banks, she never stopped travelling.  And of course, there were many trips to the casino.  She loved her slot machines!  

Family was the most important thing to Mary.  While she never had children of her own, she treated her sister Kay’s children like her own.  When the kids were younger, Mary would drive out to Wayne once a week to babysit Michael, Mary Geralyn and Ricky so that Buddy and Kay could have a date night.  There were the sleepovers in the Bronx with the pizza bagel bites, the spoon straws, and of course the cream donuts from the local bakery.  Her family also included many cousins that she always kept in touch with.  Mary was the great communicator and kept everyone up to date on the other families.   She was also host to the Christmas parties in the Bronx.  Looking back, it is amazing how many family members she could get into 1270 Mayflower at one time.  And of course, it wasn’t a Christmas party until the fuse blew in the basement.  These family memories are filled with tons of laughter. 

Faith was an important part of Mary’s life.  She was baptized, received her First Communion and was Confirmed at St. Gregory the Great Church on West 90th in Manhattan where her Father was the Sexton  (rumor had it that her father had to stand in as best man for Babe Ruth at his wedding at St. Gregory’s Rector in 1928 because Babe’s chosen Best Man was not Catholic)  When she moved to the Bronx,  St. Benedicts became her Church for the next 70 years.   When she moved to Pompton Plains, she continued to practice her faith at the Chapel in Cedar Crest as well as OLV and St Mary’s.  

Mary is survived by her sister Kay Iapoce, her nephew Michael (Sue) Iapoce, niece Mary Geralyn LaBarre, and nephew Ricky (Sue) Iapoce as well as her great nieces and nephews and her newest great, great nephew!  She also has many cousins and friends who have been very special to her.  She is predeceased by her parents Patrick and Margaret Cummings, her Aunt Bea and Uncle Willie, her brother-in-law Buddy Iapoce, her nephew Ed LaBarre, her great nephew Kyle Iapoce and many beloved Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.  

In lieu of flowers, in honor of Mary’s lifetime commitment to children, please consider donating to your favorite children’s charity.