Leslie Joe Cummings, of Wellington, Texas, was called home Sunday, Jan. 10, 2026, after 74 years.
Joe was born Jan. 22, 1951, in Wellington to Cecil Wayne and Ernestene Faye Gosnell Cummings. He was his mother’s answered prayer. Joe started grade school in Quail and graduated Wellington High School in 1970.
Through his youth, he worked at welding shops in town, and he became a proficient welder. After graduation, he went on to attend Texas State Technical Institute in Amarillo, Texas, to obtain certification as a diesel mechanic, graduating in 1972.
After graduation, he returned home and worked with his father farming. He married Rosa Garcia in 1979, and together, they welcomed Susan Denise into the world. When the farming operation closed, he worked for a time at Farmers Co-op Gin.
Joe married Penny Wilson on Jan. 8, 1996, and they grew their family by two sons, Talon Lee and Casey Tyrell. In 1998, Joe bought “the shop,” which in years past, he had help construct and installed “Cummings Welding” on Highway 83 in Wellington, where he operated independently for several years.
Later, after some time of a dear cousin’s pleading, Joe took a job welding with Cust-O-Fab in 2002 and immediately increased their value. Through the company, he was given the opportunity to travel to many places around the world. He laid beads in the UK, Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, Mont. and in many oil refineries on the Texas coast in and around Port Arthur, to name a few.
He worked for a couple of other companies travel welding until 2012, when his arm began to fail him. He came home and ran the scales at the gin until retiring at 65.
Joe Cummings was a Jack of all trades and a master of many. He was known for his welding abilities. He truly made a name for himself on skill alone — from learning under Ronald Kearsten and Jess Wilson as a young man, to the projects and jobs he did around the community he lived in. The Skyrocket that sat on top of the concession stand at Powell Field was a Joe Cummings original. He left his mark all over Collingsworth County.
Joe was a man of many interests — a craftsman and a fisherman. He also loved to ride his motorcycle. His 1955 Panhead was a point of great pride and is still tearing up roads in Collingsworth County in the hands of his youngest son. He loved animals. He had many beloved pets. One of the fondest remembered was Doodle, a great red-brown Heinz 57, who was the very definition of loyalty. You may remember him cruising on the back of Joe’s gold flatbed Ram, ever so happy to be in tow.
He loved guns and he loved hunting. One of his past times was hunting up a friend to go to “the prairie dog town.’ He loved fireworks and combustibles in general. When his children were young, Fourth of July was pinned on the thrill of seeing what new fireworks Joe and Quincy brought home this year.
He loved reading, whether it was the latest National Geographic, which he amassed a large collection, an old cowboy adventure by Louis Lamour or even the great adventures imagined by Tolkien. It was no wonder he was a vast store of knowledge. He was a bank of geography, physical science and lived nature.
Joe’s love for his interests was dwarfed by his love for his family. Joe was always present for the family gatherings. He was usually the first one there, waiting for the kids to come running in. Large or small, he was at the center handing out hugs and wet willies. He was in constant state of scheming. If you were standing nearby, you were at risk of falling victim to his shenanigans.
Joe was preceded in death by his parents.
Joe leaves behind his devoted wife, Penny Cummings; a daughter, Susan Cummings; oldest son, Talon Cummings; youngest son, Casey Cummings and his wife, Emmy; his grandchildren, Katie and husband Tristan Adams, Ethan Wayne Cummings and wife Katelyn, Carter Cummings and Boone Cummings; great-grandchildren Averie Sophia Faison, Noah Zyler Faison, Tayven Nash Adams, Penelope Faye Adams, Kenleigh Elaine Cummings and Kashton Wayne Cummings; and two brothers, Tim Cummings and wife Toni, and Mike Cummings and Tina; along with many nieces, nephews and greats whom he loved dearly.
A Celebration of Life is planned for Saturday, March 14 in the style that would suit him well in a location to be determined. Please come and celebrate the friendships and share your stories of the life well lived of Joe Cummings.
