Cardiff City fan who doted on his large family
MICHAEL LOVED HIS FOOTBALL, CRICKET AND RUGBY BUT SADLY PASSED AWAY IN MAY AFTER CONTRACTING COVID-19 FOLLOWING SEVERAL MONTHS OF ILL HEALTH
We all miss Michael every day and speak of him constantly. He was so loved, and that’s what we’ll hold on to
Judy, Michael’s wife
THE summer day that Michael Cummings watched his youngest son Mikey get married was one of the happiest of his life. His wife of 45 years, Judy, says she cannot remember another occasion where he was as proud or looked so smart, and the broad smile that never left his face lit up the hearts of his loved ones all around him. Michael, who was just 63 when he passed away in May follow ing a massive heart attack, was a Cardiff boy, born and bred, and a real family man. “Mikey, who’s 26, married his fiancée Rebecca in a beautiful church wedding in Cwmbran, last July,” Judy, also 63 and from Mynachdy, Cardiff, says. “It was one of the most memorable days of our lives, watching our youngest Mikey begin this new chapter. Michael wasn’t one for dressing up, but we’d never seen him look so tidy. He did a speech that was typically hilarious and had everyone in stitches. I can still see him now, up dancing with our grandchildren.” Michael was born in Ely, the son of Donald and Veronica ‘Bonnie’ Cummings, and brother to Chris and Darren. He attended St Francis RC Primary School, before going on to what was then Mostyn Secondary School. His first job was making pallets on Ely Bridge with a childhood friend, and a strong work ethic followed him throughout his life. “Michael did several different jobs, including working as a milkman and at the local steel works,” Judy recalls. “For the last 25 years we had been working for Abbey Cleaning Services in Cardiff – and Michael never took a day off. He wasn’t one to sit back.” Michael and Judy first met as young teenagers when she was babysitting at the house next door to his Cardiff home. “He was playing his music too loud so I knocked the wall, but he just turned it up,” Judy recalls fondly. “By the end of the night though he walked me home and we never looked back. We used to bicker all the time, and Michael was a real wind-up merchant, but we were strong together. He was a good man. “He loved his football and had been watching Cardiff City all his life, firstly with his dad. “He also loved cricket and rugby, but the football was always on in our house. He was brilliant with the children and grandchildren and loved playing with them. “Everyone always came around to us at the weekend because we have the biggest garden, and Michael was in his element.” The couple had six children together – Lee, 47, Paula, 44, Judy, 42, Christopher, 36, Mandy, 32 and 26-yearold Mikey – and now have 13 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. They married in 1975, and their 45th wedding anniversary very sadly fell just three days before Michael died. Having undergone an operation to remove his gall bladder last September, Michael had been in ill health for the past few months, with Mandy helping to care for him. He was admitted to hospital at the end of April, struggling to breath. Tragically he passed away 10 days later, having tested positive for Covid-19 and suffered a cardiac arrest. “We were able to be with Michael after he had passed, but not when he took his last breaths, and that has been very hard to accept,” Judy says. “We held a celebrant funeral that really focused on who he was, which we live streamed, but we’ll also have a memorial service for him in the future. “We all miss Michael every day and speak of him constantly. He was so loved, and that’s what we’ll hold on to.”