PORT TOWNSEND — Stan Cummings, former executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center who oversaw the facilities’ construction, died Tuesday of injuries he sustained last week while riding his bicycle.
He was 76.
Cummings was known for his dedication to the community.
“I was brought up to believe that there was nothing so worthwhile as to contribute to my community … to make the world a better place … to improve an individual life … to protect the earth and its bounty,” Cummings said in his statement of values, part of a four-page advance directive provided to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
On July 5, Cummings was riding his bicycle in the eastbound lane on the shoulder of state Highway 20 just west of Old Fort Townsend Road when he was struck by part of a tractor that was being towed on a trailer.
Potential charges against the driver of the truck towing the trailer and tractor, an 81-year-old man, remain under investigation, state Trooper Chelsea Hodgson said Wednesday.
Cummings died at Harborview in the company of his wife of 31 years, Sigrid Cummings. He had been treated in the intensive care unit since he was airlifted to the Seattle hospital.
Sigrid said she felt numb Wednesday as she processed the loss of her husband.
“We shared a fulfilling 31 years together dancing, hiking, biking, scuba diving and traveling,” she said in an email.
“While our time together ended sooner than we would have liked, I’m thankful this happened while he was doing something he loved, not something mundane like falling off a ladder.
“I’m grateful to the care team at Harborview Medical Center for their willingness to be guided by the statement of values Stan so thoughtfully wrote and the entire family for helping me honor his wishes.
“I’m grateful for Caring Bridge, an organization which enabled me to share our end-of-life journey. For eight days I poured my heart out on that site and continued Stan’s legacy as an educator.”
Her account can be read by going to caringbridge.org/visit/stanleycummings.
Born in 1945 in Summit, N.J., Cummings grew up in Greenfield, Mass., and eventually earned a doctorate from Stanford University.
He developed educational programs at Yosemite Institute before he was hired in 1980 by the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Calif., where he held the top leadership post for 20 years, his widow said.
The couple moved to Port Townsend in 2007, when Cummings accepted the position of executive director for the Northwest Maritime Center and the Wooden Boat Foundation, Sigrid said.
He oversaw the $12.8 million capital campaign that constructed the Chandler Maritime Education Building and the Heritage Building of the Northwest Maritime Center before he retired at the end of 2010.
Maritime center officials declined to comment Wednesday.
“Out of respect for Stan’s family and because (the executive director) is out of range, we are unable to make a statement today,” said Hallie Glynn, communications director.
In addition to his widow, Cummings is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren and five nieces and nephews, as well as a sister and brother-in-law living in New Hampshire and a brother and sister-in-law in New York, Sigrid said.
His two daughters were able to visit their father in the hospital before he died, she said.
While retired, Cummings remained active in the Port Townsend community.
He frequently assisted the maritime center, and he and Sigrid were active members of the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, where he was recently elected to the endowments committee.
“After COVID struck, he served as a Sunday Services video editor which made online services possible,” Sigrid said.
“He was instrumental in developing a financing plan which enable the fellowship to build a columbarium and memorial circle.”
Heidi Eisenhour, former maritime center chief operations officer and current District 2 county commissioner, met Cummings shortly after he arrived in Port Townsend. Although she never worked under him at the maritime center, she knew him though his support of the center’s work after his retirement.
“He was an energetic and inspired leader who brought the community vision of the maritime center to a reality,” she said. “He picked up the ball at a critical time.
“What I remember personally about him was he was always joyful and positive. He had a twinkle in his eye every time I saw him,” Eisenhour continued.
“He was very supportive of the maritime center until the day he passed.
“I will always remember him for that twinkle in his eyes.”
An online memorial service at the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, an in-person memorial service at the Northwest Maritime Center and a tribute at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point are planned, with specific dates still to be determined, Sigrid said.
The three organizations also will create funds in Cummings’ name.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
