(L-R) Bob Cummings and former Riis Settlement board member Anne Gorski LoBue at the 125th Anniversary Gala in 2014. Photo: Tina Buckman
Riis Settlement suffered a great loss recently with the passing of our dear friend and longtime board member, Bob Cummings. Bob served for over twenty one years on our board, helping to advance our mission of building and strengthening underserved communities in Western Queens. He also dedicated himself fully to the place that he called home: Queensbridge.
Born on the 27th of June 1950 to Robert and Rosita Cummings in Harlem, New York, Bob attended St. Rita’s Catholic School in Long Island City and went on to graduate from Thomas Edison High School. Soon after, he went to work at Western Electric as an electronic switching systems installer and later for the Eastern Duo Fastener Company as a pneumatic repairman. In 1977, he joined the United States Army as a member of the 2nd airborne parachute division stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While in North Carolina, he attended Fayetteville Technical College and earned his degree. After being honorably discharged in 1981, he returned to Queensbridge and began his career with United Parcel Service.
One of Bob’s many remarkable qualities was his ability to show initiative to promote positive change within the community. Upon returning to Queensbridge in 1981, he noticed a marked lack of programs for youth in the community. Understanding how important it was for young people to have positive influences in their lives, he established the Police Athletic Flag Football League and LES Girls Summer Basketball Tournament. He also served as a basketball coach at the Boys and Girls Variety Club. Bob was a change maker, a community leader and a father figure for many of the youth who benefited from the programs he helped to establish.
But Bob didn’t stop at sports. He established a career education program in Queensbridge that educated community members on the many facets of applying for a job such as pertinent interviewing skills and resume writing. He endeavored to help young women broaden their horizons by inviting successful women to talk to the young female residents of Queensbridge. He spearheaded a writing skills program for young girls, and co-founded the Queensbridge Scholarship Fund.
Bob was a prodigious fund-raiser for Riis Settlement, served on numerous Board committees and as Board Vice-Chair, and brought many new friends and supporters to the organization over the years. Because of his tireless efforts on behalf of Riis Settlement and all the members of this community, many lives were changed and the community as a whole made better.
Bob was truly an honorable man and a source of inspiration to all who had the pleasure of meeting him. He was a mentor to youth and adults alike and dedicated himself to the community through good times and bad. He gave our youth a sense of purpose and it is with that same sense of purpose that we vow to continue his legacy. A truly exemplary human being, he will be forever remembered for the enormous contribution he made to both Riis Settlement and the people of Queensbridge.
Bob leaves behind his loving wife Nafisa and their two sons, DaQuan and Rakeem.
