Thomas L. Cummings Jr
01/26/2009
GAMMA - Vanderbilt - 1942
Thomas L. Cummings Jr., a local businessman and community leader, died Monday morning.
The son of Nashville’s longest-serving mayor, Cummings, 89, was best known for the company that he built, Cummings Inc. into one of the world’s biggest sign makers.
He was a Nashville native, and he graduated from Hume-Fogg High School and Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Cummings first achieved notice during World War II, when as Mayor Thomas L. Cummings’ son he successfully fought to join the U.S. Army despite having been rejected for service for poor eyesight.
Cummings entered the service as a second lieutenant and was stationed in Alaska and the South Pacific. He would eventually retire from the Tennessee Air National Guard as a colonel and deputy wing commander.
Cummings founded his sign company in 1946, one year after returning from combat. It quickly became one of the leading makers of illuminated signs in the world. Among its best known products was the “Great Sign” for Holiday Inn, an illuminated green sign with the hotel’s name in white script beneath an golden arrow.
Eventually, Cummings would hold contracts to supply some or all of the signs for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Kentucky Fried Chicken. His company also placed the L&C letters atop Nashville’s first downtown skyscraper.
Cummings is survived by four children, Tamara Lee Haggard, Tina Cummings Huggins, Thomas Leon Cummings III and Timothy James Cummings, Sr., as well as eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends at 10 a.m. Friday, with a service to follow at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Woodlawn Memorial Park.
Original Article By Chas Sisk • The Tennessean • January 26, 2009