JAMES CUMMINGS

James L. Cummings, age 88, died peacefully on March 11th, 2025, with his wife Gail by his side after a courageous and stoic battle with Parkinson's disease and late-in-life blindness.

Jim was born in Madison, WI as the oldest of four children of Catherine E. Eck and James B. Cummings. He graduated from Edgewood High School and received his BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After serving as a Naval Intelligence Officer in Honolulu, HI from 1958-1960, he was a teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin Business school while attending the University of Wisconsin Law School. He worked briefly as a CPA for Arthur Anderson in Milwaukee; and then joined the law firm of Remley and Sensenbrenner in Neenah in 1964, where he practiced until his retirement in 2016. For many years he served as President and/or senior partner in the firm. His first client that he served upon joining the firm was still a client upon his retirement 52 years later.

James previously served as President of both the Winnebago County Bar Association and the Fox Valley Estate Planning Council. He was honored by his peers in the broader legal profession by being elected as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) in 1986, and selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America for Trusts and Estates between 1995 and 2016. Within the Fox Valley community, Jim was a long-time member of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Neenah where he served on the finance committee, and of North Shore Golf Club – where he was a previous Treasurer. He was also a long-time member and past President of the Neenah-Menasha Optimist Club. Jim served as Chairman of the Future Neenah Development Corporation 1989-1990 Campaign, and on the Board of Directors of many community organizations including the Neenah-Menasha YMCA, the Theda Clark Medical Center Foundation, and the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

James met the love of his life and wife of more than 62 years, Roberta Gail Bohnen (his “Sunshine”), while downhill skiing in 1962, and they were married later that year. They shared a love of downhill skiing with their family, especially in Utah and throughout the Rocky Mountains, Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Jim was an avid fan of the Packers, Badgers and Brewers and enjoyed traveling around the world, especially vacationing in Arizona and Hawaii. In addition to downhill skiing, Jim enjoyed playing racquetball, tennis, golf and fishing with his kids, grandkids and friends in Northern Wisconsin, Canada and Alaska. He was a lifelong learner who was constantly reading to improve his mind, body and spirit, often via audiobooks on long road trips where his children were inadvertent (and sometimes involuntary) beneficiaries of his pursuit of wisdom. As a father and husband, Jim is fondly remembered for his words of encouragement, wisdom, and positive outlook. His famous mantras ‘You can always make a good product better' and ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life' made all of us feel that no problem or challenge was too large to overcome. He lived by those words, even through the struggles and hardships of Parkinson's, and set an example for all around him to make this world a better place.

Jim is preceded in death by his father James, mother Catherine, brother Raymond, his niece Marcia and nephew Frederick, his mother and father-in-law (Robert and Ruth Bohnen), and brothers-in-law William (Bill) Bohnen, John (Jay) Mommsen and Bruce Harris.

He is survived by his wonderful wife Gail; his six children James P. (Ebby Shiroya) of North Palm Beach, FL and Mulusi Village, Kakamega County, Kenya; Margret-Anne of Wheaton, IL and Neenah, WI; Molly (Frank Smethurst) of Austin, TX and Telluride, CO; Katherine (Geoffrey) Cubitt of Winnetka, IL; Robert (Megan Sarnecki) of Anchorage, AK; and Michael (Karen Hyun) of Madison, WI. He is further survived by ten grandchildren Catherine (Eric), Roman (Amani) and Michael Rivera; Owen & Drew Cubitt; Indira and Kazimir Cummings; J. William, George and Kennedy Cummings; his three great-grandchildren Isabel, Sophia and Michael; his sisters Kathleen and Betty; his sisters- and brothers-in law and nieces and nephews.

Jim was proud to be an American and fortunate enough to be able to work to achieve the American dream. His family wishes to thank the numerous attentive caregivers who made it possible for him to remain at home later in life, and to his friends and colleagues who consistently kept in touch with him after his retirement. James will be missed by all who knew him.

Visitation will take place on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, starting at 9:30 am at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 620 Division St., Neenah, followed by family memories and a funeral mass at 10:45 am. A celebration of life will take place at a later date. Jim requests that no flowers or memorials be sent. If any donations are made, please remit to the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, for distribution to various Fox Cities charities.