Robert Kay Cummings, 56, passed away suddenly on April 29, 2020, in West Jordan, Utah. He was born May 28, 1963, in Seattle, Washington, the youngest child of Clifford R. Cummings, Jr., and Anna S. Cummings. He grew up in Bellevue, WA, and graduated from Bellevue High School in 1981. He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had an ironclad testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He served an 18-month mission for the Church in Dallas, Texas, and then attended Brigham Young University from which he graduated in 1992 with a degree in Political Science. He was a fierce and avid competitive ballroom dancer at BYU, who saw success both in individual competition and as a member of the BYU Ballroom Dance Company for 5 years. He helped the BYU BDC Standard Team win the British Formation Championship in 1989 and 1992, and taught both social dance and international standard dance classes at BYU.

See 14 photos

Following graduation, Rob went to work in the computer software industry, which suited his thorough and meticulous nature. His 28-year career spanned WordPerfect, Microsoft, and several other tech companies large and small. At the time of passing, he was employed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer.

Rob did nothing halfway, and his many passions and interests were varied. Among them, he loved dancing, music, movies, and woodworking. He cherished spending time in his woodshop, and in making beautiful hand-turned wood pens. He especially enjoyed teaching and assisting friends and family members to make a pen of their own. He served as baseball umpire and swim team stroke & turn judge in support of his boys’ athletic pursuits and shared their interest in Pokémon and Magic: the Gathering, and computer and video games. But, more than their interests and sports, he loved his children and his family without reserve.

Rob was welcomed on the other side by his father, Clifford Ray Cummings, Jr., and a sister, Anna Marie, whom he never knew in this life. He is survived by his eternal companion of 32 years, Marie; sons, Eldon (Jessica) and Jason; granddaughter Carter Rae; mother Anna, brother Clifford Eldon (Gail), and sister Pamila (Steven); 13 nieces and nephews and their spouses, 6 great-nieces and nephews; extra brother Nick (Nancy) Bean; and countless dear friends, ward members, and coworkers.

In accordance with current social distancing guidelines, a public memorial will be held at a later date. Interment at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery alongside his maternal grandparents.

For those wishing to remember Rob, donations to the BYU Ballroom Dance Company Alumni Scholarship Fund in his name would be gratefully accepted as a fitting tribute by going to the link listed below under "in lieu of flowers..." This link is specifically for donations the Robert K. Cummings Scholarship, an endowed scholarship to be awarded to deserving students each year in honor of Rob and his long-time dedication to competing, performing, and touring with the BYU Ballroom Dance Company. As long as you use the link listed below, the donation will go to the scholarship in Rob's honor, but you may also check the “In memory/In honor of” box and enter “Rob Cummings” in the field. Even if this step is skipped, your donation will go to the correct place as long as the link in step 1 was used.