Loretta Cummings Deaton

Loretta Cummings Deaton, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and sister died of cancer on October 3rd 2023 at the age of 85. She is survived by her cherished and devoted husband of 19 years, Ion Deaton. She is also survived by her eight children, Terry Cummings (Dave Hoerauf), Jim Cummings (Kim), Pat Cummings (Sue), Mike Cummings (Mary-Lou), Cathy Buttner, Rainy Pollard (Jack), Tricia Thompson (Donnie), and Brian Cummings (Carrie). Additionally, she is survived by her five stepchildren, Jo Deaton (Linda Kesselring), Ann Deaton (Judy), Kate Deaton (Greg), Tony Deaton (Teri), and Tim Deaton (Adrienne). Loretta was blessed with 32 total grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters, Kitty Hoffer and Marg Hickey, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her first husband Joseph Cummings and a son in law Willy Buttner.

Loretta was born on a farm in Latrobe PA, the youngest of ten kids. She learned the value of hard work and many other life lessons, such as: if you are going to do something your mother told you not to do, wear snow pants, because then the sting of a spanking isn’t so bad.

She moved to the big city of Washington D.C. after graduating from high school where she met her first husband Joe. They got married and started a family in Brentwood Maryland, a suburb of D.C. She loved kids so much that she had one every year for seven straight years. She took a break for five years and then had one more. She worked full time in the government sales department of a paper company, while at the same time raising her eight kids and taking care of her husband and elderly mother-in-law. She did this all in a small three-bedroom house with just one bathroom. If strength of character and time management were Olympic events, she would have won a few gold medals. Her faith was absolute, and she made sure her kids were raised in the Catholic Church.

Loretta was widowed in 1984 and became good friends with Ion Deaton. Over the years their friendship grew warmer and eventually caught fire. They got married in 2004 and this gave Lorretta five more kids to love. Loretta and Ion moved to the Riderwood community in Silver Spring Maryland and made many new friends. They traveled extensively and enjoyed watching the Redskins, even during their many losing seasons.

Loretta was an amazing woman who loved her family deeply and persevered through the chaos of managing teenage angst while fixing dinner at the same time. She had an unwavering kindness, and was always willing to help those in need. Her friends and family will greatly miss her presence, but the memories of the love and joy that she shared are eternal.