Obituary of Phillip Daniel Cummins

Phillip Daniel Cummins

By the time you read this I will be dead at age 90. Not passed away. Dead. Born In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Thyra Hansen and Lawson Tait Cummins, I had an older brother, Cameron. I attended Johnson Elementary and McKinley High School before going to college. After receiving a PhD, I spent my adult life as a college professor, my specialty being the history of philosophy, mainly at the University of Iowa. This outcome was a hilarious surprise to my high school classmates. In 1957 I married Jerry Ann Dart. We had four children. She died in 2008, eight months after our 50th anniversary. In 2011 I married Karen Countryman. Lucky in love, happy in marriage. Although sadness visited me on a number of occasions, I have been very fortunate (not blessed) in life. My mother died when I was 8. Luckily, my brother and I had a very loving aunt, Louise, who provided insights into life. A daughter (Susan Marie) died in infancy, but our other three children, Daniel Perry Cummins, Thyra Louise Cox, and Douglas Tait Cummins reached adulthood and proved to be accomplished in their capacities as professionals and parents.

Since I was 90 on November 14, it is no surprise that my father, all of my aunts and uncles, and almost all of my cousins are dead. My brother died after a turbulent life in 2002 of COPD. A great source of sadness was the death of my son, Douglas, in 2011 just after his 50th birthday of multiple myeloma.

There will be no funeral. As perhaps some of you have correctly inferred, I am not religious. In fact, since my teens belief in a providential (personal) first cause has seemed at odds with both the natural order and human experience. This belief implies rejection of the three main theistic religions, but not morality. One can still feel compassion and try to do what is right. Whether I succeeded in being a good person is for others to say. If some of them choose to do so, perhaps at a memorial, they can also talk about my other personal traits, bad and good habits and eccentricities. If they do, I hope they laugh a lot.

I am survived (at the time I tipped over) by my wife, Karen, and her son, James Mario Countryman, my half-brother, Charlie Cummins, my children, Daniel (Laurie Scott) Cummins and Thyra (Ronald Arthur) Cox. Dan and Laurie have two children, James Phillip (Mira) Cummins and Katherine Anne Cummins. Thyra and Ron have three children, Suzan Marie (Jesse Pikturna) Cox, James Phillip (Emilie) Cox and Rachael Ann Cox. Doug is survived by his daughter, Victoria Hamilton Cummins. In addition, I have several great grandchildren: William Cox Pikturna, Thyra Marie Pikturna, Annabelle Rose Cummins, Juliette Rose Cummins, and Oscar Daniel Cummins.

Phil’s loved ones remember his lifelong dedication to his family.  He was an avid reader and an accomplished bridge player. Trout fishing, golf, traveling the world, good food, and interesting conversation were among the many things Phil enjoyed.

Instead of flowers, consider making donations to The Bird House of Johnson County, Iowa City Hospice, Community Foundation of Johnson County Iowa, or a charity of your choice. Special thanks go to Dr. Fred Ovrum, and the many others who cared for Phil.

A celebration of life will be held over Memorial Day weekend 2025, details of which will follow at a later date.