Nina McCaughn Rice Cummins, 84, passed away in Bryan after a long battle with cancer on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. She was born in Tyler County and was a lifelong resident of Beaumont. Nina, as she preferred to be called, was the first of four children born to John T. and Selma McCaughn in Chester, Tyler County, Texas.

When Nina was a young child, her family moved to Beaumont where she attended school and graduated from South Park High School.  In June of 1948, she married Billy Rice. They did not have much money, but they did have love.  In 1950 they had a son, William R. “Randy” Rice. 

Nina had a career as a legal secretary and worked for King, Sharfstien and Rienstra. Gordon Gary, an attorney from the firm, ran for district judge and she followed him to the Sixtieth District court to serve as his court clerk for many years.

Billy’s sudden death in 1970 truly broke her heart. She went back to work in the courthouse as a librarian in the County Law Library for a number of years.

In June of 1974, Nina married Melvin “Jiggs” Cummins. She learned to live as a shift worker’s wife where they spent some time living in New Orleans. They returned to Beaumont in the late 1970’s and moved back to her home in South Park where she enjoyed her gardening and time spent at Lamar Baptist Church.

In 1979, her only grandchild, William C. “Billy” Rice was born. She kept Billy when he was a baby and he always held a special place in her heart. It was at this time that she took on the name of Grandma. Billy married and gave her two great-grandchildren, Lina S. Rice and William C. “Will” Rice.  As with Billy, these two great grandchildren held a special place in her heart.

Nina loved to take care of others. In many ways she was a second mom to her younger brothers and of course she raised her son, Randy. In 1956 she took care of her husband, Billy, when he was electrocuted and nearly died. Both of his hands were severely burned and he needed a lot of support for a couple of months. She cared for Randy for 3 months in 1966 when he had a waterskiing accident and broke his hip.  In 1970 she again cared for Billy, her husband when he had a stroke. It turned out to be cancer, and he died three months later. She also cared for Jiggs when he had a heart attack and bypass surgery to replace 6 arteries in his heart.

Nina had many talents. Her specialty was cooking, and she collected and cherished her recipes. Gumbo was a specialty that she always had in her freezer and was ready to serve to anyone who came for a visit.

Nina loved being able to stay home and care for her only grandchild but during this time, she also loved having the opportunity to assist her sister-in-law, Gay Nell McCaughn, a court reporter. Nina was an excellent typist and having spent years working in the legal system, transcribing was easy for her and gave her much joy.

For many years she made Christmas ornaments and sold them to make extra income. She was even featured on Channel 6 news. Her revolving Christmas tree filled with her ornaments was a treat for Beaumont to view.

Handwriting analysis was another talent. She even taught classes and was quite gifted in understanding others through this skill!

For many years, Nina had a long and difficult struggle with cancer and diabetes. She went through multiple rounds of surgery and cancer treatments.

When Jiggs became ill in 2014, they moved to Bryan, Texas, to be closer to family.  After a few weeks, Jiggs passed away and Nina stayed in Bryan, first in a nursing home, and later assisted living.

In assisted living, Nina improved and continued to make new friends.  She even tried to help and take care of others. She talked her way onto the bus to Walmart regularly, and she enjoyed the change as best as she could. She especially cherished the regular visits from Billy, Alejandra, Lina and Will.

Her cancer recently reactivated and it very quickly claimed her soul for God.  She is now united with her God and she is reunited with the love of her life.

She will be missed.

Survivors include her son, Randy Rice and his wife, Jackie, of Katy; grandson, Billy Rice and his wife, Alejandra; great-grandchildren, Lina and Will Rice of Bryan; step-son, Lynn Cummins and his wife, Linda, of Coldspring; stepdaughter, Judy Glass of Palestine; and brothers, John E. McCaughn and his wife, Gay Nell, of Beaumont and T. Larry McCaughn and his wife, Paula, of Abilene.  

She is preceded in death by her sister, Betty Jean McCaughn Bankston Ortego.

A graveside service for Mrs. Cummins will be held at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, May 21, 2015, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 4955 Pine Street, Beaumont, under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.