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Francis Patrick (Fran) Cummings III

Francis Patrick (Fran) Cummings III, of Williamsport, died Saturday, April 6, 2019, at Select Specialty Hospital in the Geisinger Medical Center complex in Danville. He was 79 and had been in declining health for three years.

He was born Nov. 22, 1939, in Williamsport, the son of Francis P. Cummings II and Irene Williams Cummings.

He attended St. Joseph’s School in Williamsport and graduated from the Franciscan Preparatory School at Highland Hall in Hollidaysburg. After undergoing classical music training in piano and organ at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., he taught and performed in Elmira, N.Y., where he was an organist at St. Patrick’s Church and rehearsal pianist for the Elmira Symphony Orchestra. He also taught and performed in Elkhart, Ind. and in Philadelphia and Williamsport. Locally, he played the organ full or part-time at Annunciation Church (now St. Joseph the Worker Parish), the former Ascension Parish, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and the former Mater Dolorosa Parish. He composed a mass that debuted at Annunciation Church.

He was good friends with Byron Janis, an internationally known classical pianist, and Janis’s wife, Maria, the daughter of the late actor, Gary Cooper. Janis praised Fran’s piano technique after first hearing him play.

Fran was also a trained encephalographer, working for a time at Mercy Catholic Medical Center and Lankenau Hospital, both in the Philadelphia area.

Fran was predeceased by his wife, Olga Ladika Cummings, his parents and his brother, Dennis. Surviving are his sister Eleanor, wife of James Stopper; and three brothers, Robert, Michael and Richard, husband of Celine Hamm Cummings. Also surviving is a nephew, Patrick Cummings, who was raised from childhood by Fran’s parents.

The family will receive friends in the church portico from 9 until 10 a.m. followed by a celebration of The Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, April 9, at 10 a.m., at St. Joseph the Worker Parish, 702 W. Fourth St., Williamsport. Burial will be in Mount Carmel of Wildwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests memorial contributions may be made in Fran’s name to St. Joseph the Worker Parish, 711 W. Edwin St., Williamsport, PA 17701.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Crouse Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 133 E. Third St., Williamsport. To sign a register book or share a fond memory, please visit www.crousefuneralhome.com.