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{{Infobox officeholder

{{Infobox officeholder

 

|name=Russell Bennett Cummings​

| name=Russell Bennett Cummings​

|nationality=[[United States|American]]​

|nationality=[[United States|American]]​

|office= [[Texas]] State Representative<br> for Harris County (District 22)​

|office= [[Texas]] State Representative<br> for Harris County (District 22)​

|death_place=[[Waco, Texas|Waco]] ​

|death_place=[[Waco, Texas|Waco]] ​

|occupation=[[Business]]man; Rancher

|occupation=[[Business]]man; Rancher

|alma_mate=University of Houston​

|alma_mater=University of Houston​

|religion=[[Methodist]]​

|religion=[[United Methodist]]​

|spouse= Dorothy Hensley Cummings (married 1949-2008, his death)​

|spouse= Dorothy Hensley Cummings (married 1949-2008, his death)​

|children=David Malcolm Cummings (born 1950)<br>​

|children=David Malcolm Cummings (born 1950)<br>​

Karen Cummings Garrett (born 1952)​

Karen Cummings Garrett (born 1952)​

}}​

}}​

'''Russell Bennett Cummings''' (October 6, 1925 &ndash; April 18, 2008) was a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the [[Texas]] House of Representatives for District 22 in Harris County from 1967 to 1971,<ref>Texas Library and Archives, Austin, Texas, 512-463-5455</ref> who is best known for having worked for passage of the state's open meetings and open beaches laws. He lost his bid for a third term in the 1970 [[general election]] to [[Republican Party|Republican]] A. Sidney Bowers, III.<ref name=chron/>

'''Russell Bennett Cummings''' (October 6, 1925 &ndash; April 18, 2008) was a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the [[Texas]] House of Representatives for District 22 in Harris County from 1967 to 1971,<ref>Texas Library and Archives, Austin, Texas, 512-463-5455</ref> who is best known for having worked for passage of the state's open meetings and open beaches laws. He lost his bid for a third term in the 1970 [[general election]] to [[Republican Party|Republican]] A. Sidney Bowers, III.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lrl.texas.gov/legeLeaders/members/membersearch.cfm|title=Russsell Cummings|publisher=Texas Legislative Reference Library|accessdate=November 7, 2019}}</ref>

In that same election, Republican then [[U.S. Representative]] [[George H. W. Bush]] lost his celebrated race against [[Lloyd Bentsen]], for the [[United States Senate]] seat vacated by [[Ralph Yarborough]], whom Bentsen had defeated in the Democratic [[primary]].​<ref>Texas Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 1970.

In that same election, Republican [[U.S. Representative]] [[George H. W. Bush]] lost his celebrated race against [[Lloyd Bentsen]], for the [[United States Senate]] seat vacated by [[Ralph Yarborough]], whom Bentsen had defeated in the Democratic [[primary]].​

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==Legislative record==​

==Legislative record==​

Cummings retired from state employment in 1993. In the fall of 1994, he relocated to his ranch between Hamilton and  Goldthwaite in Mills County in central Texas, where he raised Brangus cattle. "Our ranch was the third one in Texas to be certified as a "Texas Quality Beef Producer" by the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association," Cummings wrote in his self-penned obituary in ''The Austin American-Statesman.''<ref name=obit/>​

Cummings retired from state employment in 1993. In the fall of 1994, he relocated to his ranch between Hamilton and  Goldthwaite in Mills County in central Texas, where he raised Brangus cattle. "Our ranch was the third one in Texas to be certified as a "Texas Quality Beef Producer" by the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association," Cummings wrote in his self-penned obituary in ''The Austin American-Statesman.''<ref name=obit/>​

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==Death and burial==​

==Death==​

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Cummings died of [[cancer]] at the age of eighty-two at his residence in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]] in McLennan County, Texas.<ref name=chron/> He was survived by his wife, the former Dorothy Hensley (born August 23, 1929), and two children, David Malcolm Cummings and Karen Ann Cummings Garrett. Cummings is interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.<ref name=chron/> Since 1851, soldiers and founders of the [[Republic of Texas]] and the state itself as well as elected officials, jurists, and others who have made "a significant contribution to Texas history, government, and culture" have been interred in the state cemetery.<ref>http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us</ref>​

Cummings died of [[cancer]] at the age of eighty-two at his residence in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]] in McLennan County, Texas.<ref name=chron/> He was survived by his wife, the former Dorothy Hensley (born August 23, 1929), and two children, David Malcolm Cummings and Karen Ann Cummings Garrett. Cummings is interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.<ref name=chron/> Since 1851, soldiers and founders of the [[Republic of Texas]] and the state itself as well as elected officials, jurists, and others who have made "a significant contribution to Texas history, government, and culture" have been interred in the state cemetery.<ref>http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us</ref>​