Cummings, Clarence
CUMMINGS, Jr., Dr. Clarence Thomas Dr. Clarence Thomas Cummings Jr. died on September 21, 2020 as the result of an automobile accident in Atlanta. He is survived by his wife of fifty-seven years, Annette, their son Oliver and numerous other family members. He was preceded in death by his father, Clarence Thomas Cummings Sr., mother, Virginia Liferiedge Cummings, brother, Aaron Edgar Cummings and daughter, Eleanor Cummings Whitney. Clarence was commissioned into the United States Army as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1953. His military career spanned twenty-five years of service which included battalion commander in the 82nd Airborne Division, Language Interpreting duties in German and French, Assistant Professor of Military Science at North Carolina A & T College and Professor of Military Science at Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He served at Forts Bragg, Campbell and Benning. His overseas tours were in Germany, Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia. He retired from the army in 1978 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Clarence enjoyed matriculating in both civilian and military academic environments. He was valedictorian of the 1949 class of Alston High School in Summerville, SC. His degrees included an A.B. from South Carolina State in 1953, M.S. from North Carolina A & T College in 1965, Ed.S. from Georgia State University in 1976, Ph.D. from Georgia State University in 1979 and a diploma from The U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1969. He accepted his first position as Project Director with Georgia State University in the College of Urban Life in 1978. There he embarked upon proposal writing for federal funding to support a multitude of programs to benefit the underprivileged. Over the years while his titles and job descriptions changed, proposal writing which he very much enjoyed, remained a constant. Many meaningful programs were launched that benefited many. After twenty-five years at Georgia State he retired in 2003 as Director of The Office of Educational Opportunities and Trio Programs. After living in East Point and worshipping at Most Blessed Sacrament in Atlanta for fifteen years the family relocated to Fairburn, GA. Clarence immediately became active with various ministries at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Tyrone, GA. Among his favorites were RCIA, Lecturing and Bible Study. In more recent years the Knights of Columbus afforded him an opportunity to work with the quarterly blood drive. As a knight he also had the unique opportunity to share his obsession with poetry that was very much woven into who he was by his mother who taught him to read at an early age. Through the years he enjoyed membership in numerous professional and service organizations. His most recent service award was bestowed in September 2020 by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity for 70 Years of Devotion and Service. He has often been described by those who came to know him as both a Gentleman and a Scholar. There was a private service at Westview Cemetery. Father Kevin Hargaden presided. Services entrusted to Griner Funeral Home.
