Robert Kay Cummings, 56, passed away suddenly on April 29, 2020, in West Jordan, Utah. He was born May 28, 1963, in Seattle, Washington, the youngest child of Clifford R. Cummings, Jr., and Anna S. Cummings. He grew up in Bellevue, WA, and graduated from Bellevue High School in 1981. He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had an ironclad testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He served an 18-month mission for the Church in Dallas, Texas, and then attended Brigham Young University from which he graduated in 1992 with a degree in Political Science. He was a fierce and avid competitive ballroom dancer at BYU, who saw success both in individual competition and as a member of the BYU Ballroom Dance Company for 5 years. He helped the BYU BDC Standard Team win the British Formation Championship in 1989 and 1992, and taught both social dance and international standard dance classes at BYU.
Following graduation, Rob went to work in the computer software industry, which suited his thorough and meticulous nature. His 28-year career spanned WordPerfect, Microsoft, and several other tech companies large and small. At the time of passing, he was employed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer.
Rob did nothing halfway, and his many passions and interests were varied. Among them, he loved dancing, music, movies, and woodworking. He cherished spending time in his woodshop, and in making beautiful hand-turned wood pens. He especially enjoyed teaching and assisting friends and family members to make a pen of their own. He served as baseball umpire and swim team stroke & turn judge in support of his boys’ athletic pursuits and shared their interest in Pokémon and Magic: the Gathering, and computer and video games. But, more than their interests and sports, he loved his children and his family without reserve.
Rob was welcomed on the other side by his father, Clifford Ray Cummings, Jr., and a sister, Anna Marie, whom he never knew in this life. He is survived by his eternal companion of 32 years, Marie; sons, Eldon (Jessica) and Jason; granddaughter Carter Rae; mother Anna, brother Clifford Eldon (Gail), and sister Pamila (Steven); 13 nieces and nephews and their spouses, 6 great-nieces and nephews; extra brother Nick (Nancy) Bean; and countless dear friends, ward members, and coworkers.
In accordance with current social distancing guidelines, a public memorial will be held at a later date. Interment at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery alongside his maternal grandparents.
For those wishing to remember Rob, donations to the BYU Ballroom Dance Company Alumni Scholarship Fund in his name would be gratefully accepted as a fitting tribute by going to:
https://donate.churchofjesuschrist.org/donations/byu/fine-arts-communications/alumni-ballroom-scholarship
