William "Bill" Cummings, 66, of Merrimack, NH passed away peacefully after succumbing to dementia on November 9, 2024. His last days and hours were spent surrounded by caring hearts sharing tearful goodbyes, laughter, and good memories at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack.

Bill was born October 31, 1958, in Boston, MA. He was the son of and is predeceased by William and Joan (Blanchard) Cummings of Needham, MA. After graduating from Needham High School, Bill went on to receive his bachelor's degree in business administration at Northeastern University in Boston. After diligently serving clients in health, life and disability insurance, Bill eventually became an independent financial planner and ended his career with Axiom Advisors in Bedford, NH. On January 11, 1997, he married Emily Catherine Otterman, after a beautiful chance meeting in Chicago.

A man of many voices, he loved entertaining whoever was listening with his long list of impersonations. Bugs Bunny, the Cowardly Lion, Jack Nicholson, John Wayne, Johnny Carson, Jackie Gleason, Rich Little, Sean Connery, to name just a few. His radio-worthy, smooth voice landed him a brief stint as a disc jockey in early years. Bill loved football and baseball yet despised bad announcers on major networks. Always active in his community, Bill took on leadership roles in many organizations, including Merrimack Chamber of Commerce, NAIFA, Merrimack Rotary Club, Merrimack School District, NH Scholars, and NH Pathfinders. He loved coaching his son's baseball teams and forged great friendships through these efforts.

The rare form of dementia he had, "Posterior Cortical Atrophy", as with other dementias, can cause symptoms of anger and sometimes violence, but it never affected Bill that way. Despite the mental and physical deterioration, he remained grateful, kind, loving and humorous to those around him, right to the end. He thanked our Pastor a few weeks ago for "unburdening" him after giving us communion.

Bill is survived by his wife, Emily Otterman, and their children, Lena and Nolan Cummings. He will be greatly missed by his sisters Susan and her husband Jim Caccivio, Lisa Cummings, and Nanci Durler, and will never be forgotten by Emily's brothers and their wives, Paul and Lynn, (Blair d.) and Elaine, and Steve and Susan. He was the fun Uncle to Conor, Ava, Caitlyn, Brian, Aidan, Jake and Liam, and Trevor, Nicole, Erin, Rod, Chantelle, Christine, Ed, Mike, and Drew.

Per the family's request, a funeral service will be held privately.

Bill was all about giving back to the community that he thrived in, and to the causes that were near to his heart. And he was all about music. We're grateful that he was able to make his wishes clear before dementia depleted his cognition. To follow through on a promise to him, we invite you to help us honor Bill with a celebration of life on April 12th, 2025. Space is limited so please contact Emily at eotterman@gmail.com to reserve a seat. In the spirit of giving back, it will also be a fundraiser for the New England Parkinson's Ride (all proceeds go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation), with a portion of funds raised going to organization/s that support caregivers of loved ones with dementia.

It will be a night of music (yes, karaoke is on the docket!) and good times. It will be an opportunity to be giving, come together to honor our friend, colleague, brother, father, and husband, share stories, laughter, love, and hopefully feel peace in closure.

The family would like to thank friends and volunteers for their love and support during Bill's illness. Our deep gratitude goes out to the incredible caregivers over the last few years at Merrimack Adult Day Health, staff at Bridges by Epoch in Nashua, Bill's hospice team, and the gifted and comforting hospice staff at Community Hospice House in Merrimack.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association to advance research, maximize care and support: https://www.alz.org, Mind What Matters, a non-profit that provides grants to caregivers of loved ones with dementia: https://www.wearemindwhatmatters.org, Home Health and Hospice Care: https://www.hhhc.org/how-to-help/options-for-giving, or a charitable organization of your choice.