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Obituary: Kathleen Ann Roy Cummings (1951 - 2021)

by SAH News | Dec 20, 2021
Kathleen Ann Cummings (née Roy), aged 70, passed away peacefully on December 15, 2021, surrounded by her family. Kathy was the loving wife of Daniel Cummings and the devoted mother of Christine Anne and Elizabeth Emma Cummings. She was the adored daughter of the late Dorothy (Wisman) and Robert Eugene Roy, Sr., the daughter-in-law of the late Emma (Ploehn) and Daniel Cummings, the loving sister of the late Robert E Roy, Jr., and sister-in-law of Maureen Durkin Roy. Kathy was also the cherished aunt of Kathryn (Barnaby Hughes) Roy and Robert (Tito Gomez) Roy. She recently became the proud great-aunt of Niamh and Nolan Hughes. Kathy attended The Immaculata High School, from where she retained many lifelong friends. She graduated from Northwestern University in 1973, where she was a member of the Alpha Phi fraternity. She received her M.A. in the History of Art from Brown University in 1978. Kathy taught architectural history at Northwestern University, lectured at the Art Institute of Chicago, and authored books and articles about Chicago architecture and Arts and Crafts design. She enjoyed walking and was a frequent National Parks and forest preserves visitor with Dan, especially to the Magic Hedge, and loved sitting on a Lake Michigan beach reading a book. Kathy was an ardent preservationist and was researching for a book on Prairie School architect George W. Maher. For many years she was on the board of Maher’s masterpiece Pleasant Home in Oak Park.  

Visitation will be at Lakeview Funeral Home, 1458 W. Belmont, from 4 to 7 pm on Sunday, December 19. A Mass of Resurrection will be at 11 am on Monday, December 20, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 708 W. Belmont Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.
 
Kathleen Cummings joined SAH in 1978.
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