Betty Jo Cummins

Betty Jo Cummins, 89, of Abilene passed away Sunday, August 23, 2009 at her home. Graveside services will be held at 10:00 am on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at Elmwood Memorial Park, 5750 Highway 277 South. Services are under the direction of The Hamil Family Funeral Home. Betty was born to Harry Glenn and Florence Elizabeth (Lovelace) Chambers on June 16, 1920 in De Queen Arkansas. She moved to Port Arthur, Texas with her family in 1932 where she graduated from Port Arthur Thomas Jefferson High School in May 1937. After completing studies in their secretarial and bookkeeping program, she graduated from Port Arthur Business and Radio College in 1938. Her first full time job was with the American Red Cross chapter in Port Arthur. During World War II, she worked in the offices of Consolidated Steel in Orange, Texas and the United States Coast Guard Marine Inspection Office in Port Arthur. As her father was transferred with Sears, Roebuck and Company, she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1949 and Baytown Texas in 1950, where she worked for M.W. Kellogg Construction at the Humble Oil (Exxon) refinery in Baytown. Her family moved to Abilene in September 1951, where she resided for 58 years. She was employed by Hendrick Memorial Hospital, Warren Petroleum and Earl W. Jones. On October 23, 1954, Betty Jo married John O. "Joe" Cummins, II in Abilene and became a housewife after the birth of their sons, Lloyd Glenn Cummins in 1958 and John O. Cummins, III in 1959. She had been a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) since her childhood in Arkansas and was a member of First Christian Church in Abilene, where she was married. As her sons grew up, she worked in her husband's office at the moving and storage companies he managed. Later on, she became interested in antiques and collectibles. For many years she sold items at flea markets and antique malls, until retiring from operating her booth at Yesterdaze in 2000. She was preceded in death by her husband, John O. Cummins II in 1977, her mother in 1962 and her father in 1981. Betty Jo is survived by her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Ann (Betty) Cummins of Abilene; two sons, Lloyd Glenn Cummins of Abilene and John O. Cummins III, his wife Joyce and their daughter Emma Elizabeth Cummins, all of Abilene; and Emma's brothers, Randy Ohliger and Warren D. (Bud) Ohliger, Jr. Memorials may be made to Meals On Wheels Plus, 717 North 10th Street, Abilene, Texas 79601; or to West Texas Rehabilitation Center's Hospice of the Big Country, 4601 Hartford, Abilene, Texas 79605.