Virginia Beach, Va. —
Heidi was born and raised in Chester, Vt. and had spent the last 16 years in San Jose, Calif. She recently moved from the West Coast to Virginia Beach, Va., where she had resided since October of 2016.
She was born on Feb. 5, 1961, to Ralph and Marion (Harvey) Cummings, both predeceased. She is survived by her half-brothers, Darrell Cummings and David Cummings and his wife, Janice, all of Candia, N.H., her half-brother, Donald Cummings and his wife, Lynn of South Burlington, Vt., her full sister, Holly (Cummings) and her husband, Jeff Nichols of Bellows Falls VT., her full brother, Terry Cummings and his wife, Valerie, of Thetford, Vt., and her full sister, Hayley Cummings and her partner, Calvin Jewell of Cornish, N.H. She is also survived by many loving cousins, nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces.
Heidi worked in many fields and many companies in the Vermont, New Hampshire, and California areas and was well respected and well-liked by those she worked with. In Claremont, N.H., Heidi worked for Sinclair Machine Products and spoke very highly of both Bill Scala, who operated Sinclair Machine and Bill’s wife, Sue. They definitely left a positive and lasting impression on her.
Heidi was full of life and extremely adventurous. She adored traveling, especially to exotic Caribbean beaches. Her favorite was Barbados. The beach was definitely her Happy Place and place she would go to both relax and rejuvenate. Heidi also had a great appreciation for wine. She and some former colleagues were part of a wine club – Over a Barrel (OAB). They would meet on occasion and share bottles of wine over conversation and laughter. Heidi always provided the cheese platter which was very much appreciated (since not many contributed food).
Heidi’s life was full of making her dear friends around her feel special and loved. She had a smile that lit up a room and her huge heart was a positive presence in many, many lives. If you were a friend of Heidi’s – you were a friend for life.
She was a big proponent of the Golden Rule – treating others as you’d like to be treated and had little tolerance for mean behavior and would not be shy about calling one out on that. Many will remember her for her great sense of humor – she truly believed that laughter was the best medicine.
Even during her last couple months, she continued to use humor to deal with the challenges that she faced. She remained positive and upbeat until the end. She will be missed by all.
A grave-side memorial service is planned for Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. at the Pleasant View Cemetery on High Street in Chester. Immediately following there will be a Celebration of Life at Josh and Beth Adams’ house at 56 Kevadus Circle in Chester. All are welcome.
Heidi loved animals. Years ago, Heidi adopted a Beagle named Oliver (Oliver Twist-A-Weagle-Beagle) from the Bennington County Humane Society, PO Box 620, in Shaftsbury, VT. 05262, so in lieu of flowers, please make donations here. Thank you.