Patricia Cumming, 91, St. Cloud

March 13, 1932 – July 1, 2023

The Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. July 22 at the Cathedral of St. Mary, St. Cloud for Patricia Ann Cumming. Visitation at the Cathedral will be one hour before mass. Her celebration of life will immediately follow at Julie and Jeff Wood’s home, 2117 37th Ave. S., St. Cloud. Patty will be interred at Assumption Cemetery, St. Cloud. Patty died July 1, 2023, at the of age 91, at St. Benedict Care Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Arrangements by Miller-Carlin Funeral Homes, St. Cloud, MN.

Patty was born March 13, 1932, in Minneapolis, to Kathleen (Fletcher) Smith and John “Jack” Smith. She graduated from the Redwood Falls high school in 1950. She was a student at Mankato State Teachers College when she met and married Robert J. Cumming. They were wed on Dec. 2, 1950, at Church of the Holy Rosary, North Mankato. Patty and Bob lived in Mankato, St. Paul, and St. Cloud while raising their 10 children. They bought their first home in St. Cloud on 6th Avenue North. They attended the Church of St. Paul and enrolled their oldest children in the church’s elementary school. Later they moved to St. Cloud’s south side and attended Christ Church Newman Center. A rich social life kept Patty and Bob busy nearly every Saturday night. Later, they purchased a lake home on Pearl Lake where they spent many summers hosting extended family and friends—stories from summer days at Pearl Lake echo today. Patty was so busy being a mother that she did not get a driver’s license until her mid-30s — just in time to drive children to sleepovers, dance class, swimming lessons, hockey practice, gymnastics, and shopping trips to the cities with neighborhood friends.

Food, on a large scale, was central to Patty’s life. Meals were served at a 12-foot table repurposed from a bank board room. Bars and cookies greeted children after school. Patty often brought home bakery donuts after her Saturday morning visit to the hair salon. A lookout would shout, “Mom’s coming down the alley,” and the children would scramble to pick up their rooms, knowing that was the price for their donuts. She was active in community organizations, notably Stearns-Benton Medical Auxiliary and Reading Room. She was the chair and co-chair of Holly Ball, an annual fundraiser for hospice and cancer programs at St. Cloud Hospital. She loved volunteering and meeting new friends.

In her later years, she worked in women’s wear at Dayton’s department store in St. Cloud. Her impeccable taste in clothing made Patty one of the store’s top sales clerks. She was the matriarch of the Smith family for 35 years. She loved chatting on the phone every morning with her sister, Sue. She looked forward to seeing her siblings throughout the year and occasionally traveled with her sisters. Patty is remembered by her neighborhood friends and her tennis- and card-playing gal pals. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren grieve the absence of GG’s loving arms. Her siblings remember their big sister, who watched over them when they were young. And nearly every day, Patty’s children and grandchildren channel her parenting skills, matter-of-fact toughness, and love.

Patty is survived by her children, Merrily (Gary) Hazelton, Minnesota City; Kathy Cumming, Minnetonka; Julie (Jeff) Wood, St. Cloud; Sue (Wally) Abel, St. Cloud; Thomas (Margie) Cumming, St. Cloud; Kelly (Bryant) Richards, Annandale; John (Eileen Crespo) Cumming, Lake Elmo; Mary Pat (Dan Naidicz) Cumming, Lake Elmo; Jamey Cumming, St. Cloud; brothers and sisters, Kathy Philbrick, Pickens, SC; Jim (Carol) Smith, San Lorenzo, CA; Tom (Tesa) Smith, Wiggins, CO; Susan Raiter, Inver Grove Heights; sisters-in-law, Jeanne Cumming, Duluth; and Marilyn Smith, Redwood Falls; brother-in-law, Peter Lake, Cary, IL.

She is survived by 33 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Robert J. Cumming; daughter, Cynthia Mabbott; granddaughter, Grace Cumming; great-granddaughter; Murphy Thelen; in-laws, Elizabeth (Weinberger) Cumming and Kenneth Cumming; brother, John “Jack” Smith; sisters, Mary Jane Larson and Teresa Lake; brothers-in-law, Tom Raiter, Eugene Wanta, Ken Larson, and John Cumming.

Memorials are preferred to the Cathedral of St. Mary and Tri-County Humane Society.