Wayne Drexel Cummins

Wayne Drexel Cummins, aged 89, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 8, 2024, after a brief illness.
After 4 years in the Coast Guard, Wayne Cummins spent the first part of his career in retail advancing from his initial position in sales at Goldring’s in downtown New Orleans to becoming a store manager with Lerner Shops. He spent over 20 years in the retail industry. He then leveraged his knowledge in retail credit by landing a position with Dixie Savings and Loan which later became Oak Tre Savings. He managed their mobile home collections department from 1978 to 1992. During his time there, he initiated the idea for, developed and organized all aspects of a plant operation to refurbish thousands of mobile homes that had been repossessed after the collapse of the oil industry. After completion of the plant set up, he managed the plant achieving the goal of the plant-to refurbish all repossessed mobile homes making them marketable for resale. After completing this goal, he oversaw the closure of the facility and then moved on to facilities management through Whitney Bank in New Orleans. His territory covered the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area, as well as branches in other states. In 2002 he retired and worked as a consultant on special projects including the re-opening of Whitney Bank branches after hurricane Katrina. He located and acquired mobile buildings and oversaw their installation to serve as temporary locations for the bank to continue operations after Katrina, making Whitney bank the first to re-open after the storm.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Marie Cummins; his father, Raymond Cummins; his sister, Joyce Cummins Zobel, his nephew, Michael Emanuello, his mother-in-law Estelle Tardy and father-in-law Francis Tardy. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, the love of his life, Patricia Tardy Cummins; daughter, Karen Scallan (Matt, deceased); daughter, Kristina Cummins; Son, Patrick Cummins (Laurie); 9 grandchildren, Kevin Scallan, Aubrey Beiser (Josh); Bethany Way (Ethan); Claire Charlton; Parker Cummins; Mason Cummins, Camden Cummins, Marcus Cummins, Merritt Khun and 2 great-grandchildren, Phoenix Charlton, and Jameson Dean.
A Memorial Service will be held at Garden of Memories on April 22, 2024, from 10:00am-12:00pm, 4900 Airline Hwy, Metairie, Louisiana. A private burial will take place later.