Polly Brown Cummings

Polly Cummings, age 90, of Gatesville, passed away peacefully at her home in Bee House on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.

A celebration of her life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at Scott’s Funeral Home in Gatesville. Her family will receive visitors one hour prior to the service.

Polly Brown Cummings was born July 14, 1935, in Jonesboro, Texas, to Eva Gertrude and Henry Milton Brown. She grew up in small Central Texas communities, including the settlement of Sly, what is now known as Fort Hood. Polly started school in 1942. She attended Unity School before graduating from Evant High School in 1953. She fondly recalled ringing the school bell so hard it lifted her off the ground, exploring old cellars full of forgotten treasures, and walking miles to catch the school bus.

The Brown siblings would all help their father work on the family farm. Polly’s cotton sack would always have the cleanest cotton. She would tell stories about when she would guide the tractor and trailer in the field when it was time to pick corn. Her brothers would throw corn cobs and ‘accidentally’ miss the trailer hitting her on the tractor.

On her 18th birthday in 1953, Polly married her high school sweetheart, Gerald Cummings. For thirty-seven precious years, the couple made their home in Izoro, Texas, where Polly was a devoted wife and mother to five daughters. Her life centered around faith, family, and creating a warm, loving home. Her daughters and grandchildren were her pride and joy.

After raising her children, Polly began a successful career in banking, serving as a teller, loan officer, and eventually vice president and branch manager of Citizens State Bank in Lampasas. In 1991, she was appointed by Governor Ann Richards to the Texas Agricultural Diversification Board, where she worked to help farmers and ranchers expand into new crops and business opportunities. Her knowledge of farm life and banking, along with her deep Texas roots, made her an invaluable voice on the board.

Polly’s legacy is one of service, hard work, faith, and family. Her Celebration of Life service will include two of her favorite hymns, “I’ll Fly Away” and “It Is Well with My Soul,” honoring her steadfast faith and the comfort it brought her throughout her life. She leaves behind a lifetime of memories and lessons that will continue to inspire all who knew her. She was always considered to be classy and a bit sassy at times.

Polly was a devoted Christian throughout her life and remained an active member of Church in her communities. In recent years she returned to her familiar School Creek Baptist Church. She was known for her sharp mind, generosity, and ability to connect with people from all walks of life.

Polly was asked if you could go back in time and choose a different career, what job would you choose and why?

“No other career, I always wanted to be a mom. It is even more fun being a grandmother and great grandmother.”

She was preceded in death by her parents; four sisters, Geraldine Brown Evans, Quida Brown Green, Mildred Brown Parrish, and Nadine Brown Thorne; and seven brothers, James Arelen Brown, Harold Milton Brown, Bob Lee Brown, Ray Van Brown, Kenneth Brown, Morris Franklin Brown, and Billy Mac Brown; and Gerald Cummings, the father of her five daughters.

She is survived by her children, Vicki Lynn Cantrell; Marilyn Kaye Cummings; Laurie Ann Zimmerman; Traci Lea Barnard and husband Cliff; and Geri Melissa Gowan and husband Clay. She also leaves behind grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends who will miss her dearly.