Willis Cummings

Willis H. Cummings, age 90, resident of Detroit Lakes, MN, died Wednesday, June 3, 2009 with family and Hospice angels by his side.  Funeral Services for Willis will be held Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 2:00 PM in United Methodist Church, Detroit Lakes, MN. Interment will be held at Lakeside Cemetery, Richwood, MN. Visitation will be held Friday, June 5, 2009 from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at David-Donehower Funeral Home. Visitation will also continue one hour prior to services at the church on Saturday.


Willis Howard Cummings was born August 3, 1918 near Alexandria, MN to Phillip C. and Nora Eugene (Johnson) Cummings. At the age of three, his family moved west to Oregon, but made it only into Montana when they had car problems and had to turn back to North Dakota. They spent several years residing north of Tower City, ND. He later moved to the Callaway, MN area and helped build the school there. When he was 22 Willis moved to Glyndon and enlisted in the United States Army. Two years later he left for war. He was on a ship of 7,000 men that took fourteen days to get to North Africa. Only 250 of them returned home in 1945. Willis was in Africa, Italy and Czechoslovakia, when he was injured and lost all his teeth. He was proud to have served his country and remained patriotic throughout his life. After the war, Willis resided in Fargo, ND working construction with his Dad. He was united in marriage with Perle Crosby and together they moved to the Twin Cities where he operated a construction business prior to moving to the Strawberry Lake area in 1959. Willis and Perle developed, owned and operated Cummings Campsite now known as Woodland Trails. They left the lake in 2003 and moved to Detroit Lakes. In the fall of 2008, Willis moved to Oak Crossing (St. Mary’s Nursing Center).


Willis enjoyed the outdoors where he was able to hunt, fish, camp and participate during the Rollag Steam Threshers Reunion. He loved reading Louie Lamoure westerns and going to flea markets where Willis and Perle sold crafts that Willis hand made out of wood. Together they enjoyed their retirement years, spending their winters in Texas.


Willis will be remembered and missed by his wife of 63 years, Perle along with their daughter, Judy (Mike) Nodsle of Detroit Lakes; sons, Buck (Marilyn) Cummings of Detroit Lakes and Dennis (Dawn) Cummings of Titusville, Florida. He is also survived by six granddaughters, Andrea (Cummings) Tamburro, Sarah Cummings, Amy (Cummings) Baker, Tami Cummings, Christine Nodsle and Allison Cummings; and four great-grandchildren.