Seebequah Jeanette Nioce Cummings, 76, of Yakima, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Sept. 11, 2016, ending her fight with Alzheimer’s.
She was born July 15, 1940 to Joe and Alice Nioce in Holton, Kansas. As a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, she was raised on the reservation, the youngest of six siblings. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Isabel Thomas, Vivian Nioce, Vestina Nonkin and Inez Aikin; brother Edgar Nioce; and granddaughter Sarah Marshall Partlow. She is survived by her sister Loretta Rosenthal of Cherokee, Iowa; immediate family; and several nieces and nephews.
After graduating from Holton High, she married Theodore (Ted) Cummings at Our Lady of Snows Catholic Church on June 6, 1959. Together they raised two daughters, Jo Ann Marshall (Kevin) of Yakima and Vivian Alexander (Gregg) of Hutchinson, Kansas. The family grew to include seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Over the next 57 years together they ran a business, nurtured a family, traveled and played music across the U.S. in their band The Good Timers. Jeanette’s life was full of family, friends, art, music, dancing and prayer. In her travels she enjoyed researching Potawatomi tribal genealogy. Wherever she traveled she took time to work in the Catholic Church. She always had her prayer lists from those requesting prayer. We all knew we could count on her to pray.
Jeanette was honored in a Christian Burial Mass by Father Jose at St. Joseph Catholic Church of Lynden on Sept. 16, 2016, with family attending and serving. Deacon and nephew Scott Aikin blessed the gravesite at Ten Mile Cemetery. He sang a Potawatomi song using a Potawatomi drum and the drum stick of her father’s Sock-ka-nakabah. We were blessed by the sight of two eagles that circled above the trees as the song filled the valley. Then the family gathered to sing the Blessing song and lay down roses in honor of Seebequah Jeanette Cummings. “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
