By Regina Lorenz
Walter J. Cummins World War I
Walter Cummins was born at Sioux City, IA, on April 4, 1893 (although his VA death file says 1894) , to Simon and Anna Cummins. He was the oldest of about 10 children, although several of them died as children, and a couple others as young adults.
Some of the illnesses the younger siblings died from included Bright’s Disease, Spinal Meningitis and tuberculosis of the spine. Also, his mother died of tuberculosis in 1915 when he was only 22 years old, and his father died of cancer of the thyroid gland in 1929 when Walter was just 36 years old. Such a sad early life!
In 1910, when he was just 17 years old, he is listed as working as a glazier at a sash and door mill. I'm assuming with so much illness in the family, he had to do his part to help with expenses in the family.
On his WWI registration card, Walter is listed as still living in Sioux City and working as a truck driver for F. B. Hackett. He enlisted on June 14, 1918, when he was 25 years old, and was discharged March 27, 1919. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any record of where or in what unit he served, or anything about his time in the military.
Walter married his wife, Esther Calundan of Osmond on Dec. 1, 1917, before he enlisted. In the 1920 U.S census, they are living in Sioux Falls, S.D., and he is working as the manager of a warehouse. Then in 1923, they moved to California, where they lived until 1965 when they moved back to Nebraska and settled in Creighton. While in California, Walter’s occupation is listed as a salesman of novelties in 1930, a salesman, and a proprietor in the sign business.
The couple had three young sons, Joseph, James and Charles. After they moved to Creighton Walter became a member of American Legion Post 74 of Creighton.
According to the Osmond centennial book, Esther unfortunately contracted multiple sclerosis when her children were small and suffered from crippling effects to her ankles. It's so sad and strange that so many in his family had so many afflictions.
Walter died June 3, 1977, and although they had lived in Creighton for so long, he was buried in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery here at Osmond, following funeral services at St. Ludger's Catholic Church in Creighton. I thought maybe it was because Esther’s Calundan family was buried there and she wanted Walter and herself to be buried near them, but the Calundans are all buried in the Osmond city cemetery.
Although I couldn't find much information on his son James, I found a record showing that Joseph was in the Army during World War II, and it seems Charles was in the Navy, judging by a picture of him in uniform on his Find a Grave page.
The attached picture is of a very handsome young Walter Cummins.
