Jeanne Labouisse Cummings

November 16, 1935 ~ January 21, 2025
Born in:
New Orleans, Louisiana
Resided in:
Asheville, NC
Jeanne Labouisse Cummings died Tuesday morning, January 21, 2025. She was 89 years old and had joyfully celebrated 67 years of marriage on December 20th to Charles Emmett Cummings.
Jeanne was the only living child of the late John Priestley Labouisse and Olive May Moore Labouisse. She was also preceded in death by her sister Mary Labouisse, who died at birth.
Jeanne was born November 16, 1935, in New Orleans, LA and attended Metairie Country Day School with friends she remained close to throughout her life. Later she attended Hollins College and Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane University and received a B.A. in Sociology.
Mardi Gras was always a favorite time of the year for Jeanne and her friends, and she was known to watch the parades while gleefully shouting, “Throw me something, Mister!” as the majestically-decorated floats rolled by with trinkets and beads tossed to the crowd. Her lifelong collection of Mardi Gras beads is enviable. Jeanne also participated in the formal Mardi Gras balls in New Orleans and was celebrated as Queen of Achaeans.
Jeanne met Charlie on a blind date in the spring of 1957 while a senior at Sophie Newcomb. She soon left for California for the summer, where she boldly monogrammed all of her blouses with “C” before any marriage proposal had been uttered. Luckily, the two did in fact marry in December that year, and after Charlie’s stints in Pensacola and Cuba with the Navy, the pair landed with their two children in Asheville in 1963. While Charlie started a thriving dermatology practice, Jeanne began to volunteer her time to help the community.
Charlie and Jeanne raised four children in Asheville. During that time, they built and enjoyed three rustic houses, known as Nowhere, Somewhere, and Where?. While serving in the Junior League of Asheville, she became a fierce fundraiser and thus feared by many a CEO in town. She even brought a lion cub named Pandora on rounds to their offices to raise funds for the conversion of the Asheville Zoo to the WNC Nature Center. Not a single CEO turned her down. She and several other women became known as the “Founding Mothers” of the WNC Nature Center. Jeanne volunteered for many organizations that were important to her, often rising to serve as President, as in the Junior League of Asheville and the French Broad River Garden Club. She served on Mission Hospital boards as well. Charlie was always proud of Jeanne’s service as she was one of the first women in the area to serve on several bank boards.
Jeanne fly fished on rivers around the world, snorkeled with wild dolphins off Nassau, galloped on horses in Montana’s mountains and meadows, hiked with beloved friends in the blue and green beauty of Western North Carolina’s mountains, read poetry to nursing home residents, acted mightily with The Autumn Players, sewed sleeping bags for the homeless, staved off deadly snakes to work to save the coral reef in Fiji, stayed for hours on the beach with a book and rum always in hand, wrote hilarious lyric poems for all celebrations, was as gleefully happy with a fishing rod or shotgun in hand as she was in an evening gown (sometimes those happened on the same day), hunted quail and pheasant in Wales, sat with rapt attention at storytelling events, and frightened both children and adults as a scary witch at Halloween, refusing to come out of character even when begged.
For her 50th birthday, Jeanne hung up her pearls and high heels in exchange for binoculars and tall socks and journeyed to Borneo with Earthwatch to help study and track wild orangutans. She knocked leeches off her shoes with a screwdriver and dodged crazily accurate fruit throwing orangutans as she trekked in the jungle and played with mischievous orphaned orangs at camp.
When Jeanne’s beloved New Orleans was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, she arrived shortly thereafter with All Souls chums and dove into the clean-up. She wielded a chainsaw, but only after sleeping the night before on a cot in a gymnasium with curlers in. Sometime later she returned with the crew to begin rebuilding on the coast of Mississippi.
To her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, Jeanne was known as “Obie”, a name she chose for herself and was much beloved. She read hundreds of books to them with a great actor’s flair; she performed for them, she adventured with them, and she was their most ardent advocate. Obie showed us how to love family and friends beyond measure and unconditionally, and to always try to make someone feel as if he or she were the only person she wanted to be with at that moment.
Jeanne is survived by her loving husband, Charles E. Cummings, their four children, Laura Cummings McCue (Mike), Priestley Cummings Ford (Brent), Charles James Cummings (Beth), and Hennen Dock Cummings (Kim); eight grandchildren James Colton McCue (Amanda), Logan Davis McCue (Kendall), Mary Ashby Cummings, Elizabeth James “Jamie” Cummings, John Lennox Cummings, Terran Luke Cummings, Lilly Sky Cummings, and Katherine Ford Jenkins (Chris); and two great grandchildren Merritt James McCue and Mason Reese McCue.
Jeanne’s family gives special thanks to Clay Ballantine, MD and to Mountain Home Care, especially Julie and Linda, for years of TLC.
A Memorial Service to celebrate Jeanne’s life will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, February 1st in the Chapel of Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian in Arden and will be streamed live via this page by clicking on the link just below the obituary text. Her family will greet friends at the funeral home immediately following the service.
Jeanne’s family graciously asks that memorial donations be made to Friends Of The WNC Nature Center, PO Box 19151, Asheville NC 28815 or www.wildwnc.org/donate.
Services
Memorial Service: February 1, 2025 2:00 pm
Room: Chapel
Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian
72 Long Shoals Road
Arden, NC 28704
(828)687-3530
http://www.grocefuneralhome.com
The Family Will Greet Friends: February 1, 2025 3:00 pm
Room: Main Hall
Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian
72 Long Shoals Road
Arden, NC 28704
(828)687-3530
http://www.grocefuneralhome.com
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Charities
The family greatly appreciates donations made to these charities in Jeanne Labouisse Cummings 's name.
Asheville will never be the same.
jeanne was my role model, my teacher, my friend.. she taught me wildflowers, how to view the world, the beuty of our mountains.. she will always be with me
A beautiful and gracious lady who over the many years since her passing, continued to remind me of my mother’s love…
Our deepest condolences to the Cummings family. Jeanne was a true gift to our community, her loved ones, and all who knew her. She was an extraordinary role model—generous, joyful, and full of grace and beauty. Jeanne has touched so many lives, she will be deeply missed and always loved.
Jeanne was a real inspiration to me! I loved seeing the world through her eyes. Thinking of the Cummings family! Love and condolences to all. Peace, Florence Krupnick
Jeanne was a friend, companion on the trail, inspiration and cheerleader when I needed her most. She will be deeply missed and fondly remembered. All my love to the Cummings family.
Susan Smith
I am so very sorry to hear of Mrs. Cummings’ passing. She was a lady of great charm and dignity and humor and grace. My most sincere condolences to Dr. Cummings and all the family. May Light Perpetual shine upon her, and may she rest in Heavenly Peace. And may God comfort you all in your loss.
Jeanne’s beautiful spirit will continue to be with you eternally. I am so grateful to have known her and celebrate the incredible light and love she shared with us all.
Jeanne welcomed Jim and I so graciously when we came to town. Sitting at her kitchen table was like sitting at our own. Kevin, Kimberly and Carrie all loved her. Her vegetable soup was her signature creation. She brought us together with all her many friends. My love and condolences to Charlie and family.
As beautiful on the inside as on the outside . We will miss her welcoming smile .
Gay & David Cogburn
Jeanne, Charlie and the Cummings family have been an integral part of my parent’s lives in Asheville since 1977. So many years, so many miles, so many smiles. I was fortunate on a visit from California to my mother’s home in Deerfield to see Jeanne roar up (quietly) in her brand new electric Mustang and pay us a visit. What a great memory of an inspirational lady. May her spirit live on.
This photo of Jeanne is exactly her presence…warmth, welcoming, spirits up, “let’s work together.” Happiness to be around her. She will be missed by so many, and we are grateful to have been her friends.
Bob and Glenda Burgin
Oh, how I loved her. She was such a mentor to me! Held my hand in my first adult leadership role as chair of the Nature Center’s first HeyDay back in 1977. She set such an example for women to follow with her warmth, knowledge, professionalism and caring, I will miss seeing her smile and her warm hugs, hearing her voice, talking Junior League “stuff.”
Jeanne will always be remembered as a true lady, and always with a sweet song in heart, and doing goodness for many others throughout her day. Her legacy lives on, and will not be forgotten. David and I send our deepest condolences for the Cummings family.
Cummings. She was a remarkable woman and I hope I never forget heading to the Cummings house to play with Hennen. She was a Wonderful Person.❤️🙏❤️
Laura and Priestley, I’m so sorry to hear about your mother. What a wonderful woman she must have been. Catherine (Pennell) Carney
We will miss her, but not forget her.
Love to Charlie and family
Stan and Cathy M Skeen
Gracious and elegant, Jeanne had time for everyone. She will be held in the hearts of so many people.
I send my deepest condolences to you, Priestley, and your entire family. You were fortunate to have such a fun and kind mother.
Thinking of you. Barbara Ann Brame
My heartfelt condolences to the entire Cummings family for the loss of the glorious Jeanne Cummings. I met Jeanne in the 1970s when I was with the Arts Council and was in awe of her commitment and gifts of service to our community. Years later, I got to work with her as a member of The Autumn Players (TAP), the “senior” wing of Asheville Community Theatre. Jeanne and I were a tag-team selecting poetry and coordinating members to take monthly readings to retirement communities, nursing homes, and community centers in W.NC.
She joined as a reader as well. I read with Jeanne and Shirley Cohen at the Laurels at GreenTree through March, 2020; then Covid closed down much of our world. She picked up Shirley every month, transported her wheelchair, and prepared large-print reading materials so Shirley could continue her monthly work as a TAP volunteer. Shirley and Jeanne delighted in the Dorothy Parker poem, “The Little Old Lady in Lavender Silk.”
Jeanne also joined her voice in readers’ theatre presentations of “Presidential Voices” at community centers, schools, and libraries. In 2009, I was honored to direct her as Esther Crompton, one of the Gibbs Sisters, in TAP’s Readers’ Theatre Showcase of “Mornings at Seven.” In character, she moved John Bridges’ wheelchair onstage so he could repeat the role of the difficult husband, David Crompton, he played on ACT’s main stage in 1989.
Reading Jeanne’s obituary, I am amazed by her life filled with service to so many agencies and her remarkable adventures.
Jeanne, Charlie and the entire Cummings clan have been a part of my life since I was a little girl on the Gallatin River in the big sky of Montana.
Summer would come and the Cummings would arrive and Charlie would take his fishing rod and head for the river to take the trout. The kids and I would spend time playing in the first on the creek, on the swing or I the rec hall playing pool. Jeanne would immediately head for the barn and get signed up to see her favorite haunts from the back of a beautiful roan horse. Cinnamon Mountain, Sunshine, sunken Forrest, and of course the famous pack trip into Ramshorn Lake involving the bear scare!
I was blessed to go on lots of those rides with Jeanne and to share her family at the ranch and then to share her family with her at their own home in the Gallatin. I was blessed to spend time with her in Ashville and had two unforgettable tours of the Biltmore with her that marked the march of time. The first tour was in the early 90’s with my sister and Jeanne. We had the place to ourselves and learned all kinds of wonderful stories! The second was with my husband Don and a friend in the early 2020s…. there were mobs of people everywhere and Jeanne marched us through the throngs stopping only at the most notable spots and finally landing in the garden!
I will miss you my friend! I’m sure if I looked in the dictionary for southern lady, there would be a picture of you there! Your brown eyes always danced and twinkled as you smiled and told some story in a beautiful voice. You loved the mountains and the animals and the birds and especially your family and Charlie. Sending huge hugs to all of you.
Jeanne was a very special lady. I got to know her when I worked for many years at the Western North Carolina Nature Center in Asheville, NC. Jeanne, being a member of the Asheville Junior League of Women, was one of the people with a vision who helped to organize, plan, and contributed their time and resources to make the Nature Center a reality for the residents of Buncombe County and other visitors from around the world. As the Curator of Exhibits at the Nature Center, Jeanne took a special interest in my work and often personally contributed money to help fund a number of special projects that I worked on over the years which otherwise would never have been able to be completed. She had a passion for educating people about the amazing native plants and animals of our mountain region and was a major driving force and advocate for the Nature Center for many decades. I will always appreciate her numerous contributions behind the scenes in so many different capacities that have made such a dramatic difference in the life of so many residents of our mountain region and the operation of the Nature Center as a major educational destination. She also was a very positive thinking person who always seemed to have a smile on her face and a never ending zest for life. We will all miss you Jeanne, so very much.
Jeanne was the ultimate elegant southern lady
She was the matriarch of a wonderful family and even let Charlie pretend that he was the boss
Love to all
TO THE FAMILY OF JEANNE CUMMINS:
JUST WANTED TO SEND YOU ALL THIS SHORT NOTE TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE IN MY THOUGHTS & IN MY PRAYERS EVERY DAY & ESPECIALLY DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL ALWAYS & KEEP YOU ALL IN HIS LOVING CARE. AS A MEMBER OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ASHEVILLE I HAVE KNOWN JIM & BETH CUMMINGS & THEIR THREE CHILDREN ASHBY, JAMIE & LENNOX FOR MANY YEARS. I HAVE ACTUALLY HAVE HAD ASHBY, JAMIE & LENNOX IN BIBLE JOURNEYS MANY YEARS AGO & HAVE SEEN THEM GROW UP IN THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ASHEVILLE. LOVE IN CHRIST, JEAN SHEAROUSE
Simply put I have loss a very dear friend who will be sorely missed. She and Charlie were my anti depressant when I loss Yvonne and our weekly get togethers brightened my life there after. May she forever remain in our special memories. Love Mack
Jeanne lead a beautiful life that we can all wish we could aspire to. She was a founding mother of our organization called Quality ‘76 which is now Asheville Greenworks. My favorite memory of her is working in the snow on a playground in Arden in her late 70s. Her love and hard work for the environment and Civic mindedness made her my role model over many years. A life well lived that we can celebrate.
Sending our condolences and much love to the Cummings family during this time of great loss. Our mother Fenice treasured the magnetic and beautiful relationship she had while working for Mrs. Cummings. A heart-felt relationship in our opinion, between employer and employee; that stood the test of time. Mrs. Cummings ‘s many visits to our home after our mom’s retirement was always welcomed with warm appreciation. (Yes, yes!!!) Mrs. Cummings always left us with words of advice and wisdom concerning our mom. Thanks Dr. Cummings, Priestley, Charles, Laura, and Hennen for sharing such a beautiful soul with our family. May God grant love, peace, and comfort to each of you!
Polly, Button, Vanessa, Yvonne and Alice
Polly, Button, Vanessa, Yvonne and Alice
I am one of the many people fortunate enough to know Jeanne Cummings and her wonderful family. I first met her in 1972 upon moving to Asheville with my family. Susan and I met Jeanne and her family very soon – our children were fortunate to know theirs. We knew Jeanne at All Souls Episcopal Church, and saw her often there and I was lucky enough to have a daughter in my classroom. I accompanied her on a trip to Mississippi and then later to New Orleans as volunteers in the wake of Katrina and I witnessed her untiring efforts to bring help to those who lost so much. She was a wise and generous person who is a model to so many. I send my best wishes to her family in the hope that they find solace and peace knowing how loved and respected Jeanne is.
Kindest of friends, funnest of hiking buddies (who else puts her hair in rollers the night before a Tuesday-hikers all-day slog to the summit of Gregory Bald?), and one of the most omni-competent people I’ve ever had the good fortune to know. She was a blessing to us all, and I will miss her deeply.
How I will miss this wonderful lady at our Dames meetings. Prayers and hugs to her family.
I remember well a few years ago when my Louisiana Zydeco band was playing a performance at Sierra Nevada Brewery on their outside amphitheater stage, I looked out into the audience after playing a few zydeco tunes and to my pleasant surprise was Jeanne Cummings with her whole family right in front of the stage dancing and having the best time of anyone there. You could tell by the way Jeanne danced that she was from Louisiana and knew what she was doing. She and her family all had their Mardi Gras beads on and having fun. We again had the fortune to play at the Ramble club house for another event and sure enough Charlie and Jeanne were there and dancing up a storm. Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler !! Bon Reve !!
Hennen
♥️
I love you, Mom. I’ll keep saying it every day just like always.
I read the many well deserved tributes to Jeanne,and I wanted to thank Charlie for his call giving me much needed support Barry Pate