Patrick Martin Cummins

It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Patrick (Pat) Martin Cummins of Ottawa at the age of 79.  He died Saturday, May 18, 2024 in the ICU of the Brampton Civic Hospital following emergency surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm.  He was surrounded by his wife of 52 years, Dianne (Bonsor), daughters, Julie Sinclair and Carolyn Cummins, son-in-law Dan Adamson, and grandchildren, Toby and Tyler Adamson and Corbin and Quinn Sinclair. He is predeceased by his beloved son-in-law, Brian Sinclair.

Pat was born in Saskatoon and raised in Blucher, Saskatchewan, the eldest son of Thomas Cummins and Cathleen Callaghan and beloved older brother of Gerald Cummins. Pat attended boarding school in Zenon Park, SK and studied history and philosophy at St Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan. He joined the RCMP in 1967 and was selected to attend law school at McGill University earning his LLB and BCL. While in Vancouver, BC (1990-1994) he served as OIC of Contract Policing, he relocated to Ottawa in 1994 to serve as Director of Training and then in 1997 became the first Ethics Advisor of the RCMP.  He was promoted to Assistant Commissioner in 1994 and retired in 2001 after 35 years of service. Among the highlights of his distinguished career, he was awarded the Commissioner’s Commendation (1983) for leading a high-profile fraud investigation into international Customs law that led to the then largest ever fine in the history of Canada for a criminal conviction; he helped investigate the high profile 1985 Air India bombing, and years later shared this expertise, joining the Lockerbie Pan Am disaster investigation.

In 1970, the summer before starting law school, Pat met Dianne at the Cock‘n Bull Pub in Montreal. He immediately knew she would be the woman he would marry and thus researched the British Columbia marriage laws early on in their courtship. A man of integrity, he abided by Dianne’s “must date for at least two years before marriage” rule, and they wed June 24, 1972 in New Westminster, BC.  

In 2003, Pat happily accepted the invitation to come out of retirement and re-engage with the RCMP as a temporary civilian member and was appointed Tribunal Investigator in the Republic of Ireland. Pat and Dianne lived in Dublin for the next four years, weekending and vacationing across Europe.  Pat regarded this time as his ‘second honeymoon’.  Once back in Canada, Pat enjoyed retirement by volunteering for Perley Health for the past 20 years transporting veterans to and from Mass, chronically fixing his 1989 LeSharo Winnebago, fishing with close friends on the Serpentine River in Newfoundland, exploring his genealogy, travelling and cruising with Dianne, watching his grandchildren play hockey, spending Christmas holidays with family at Montebello and sampling his extensive Scotch collection. 

Pat had an insatiable curiosity and expressed a real desire to help others. As an avid reader, it could be difficult to get his attention when he was engrossed in a newspaper, magazine, or history book. He was an exceptional listener who would provide sound counsel on a wide range of topics. With an occasional sideways glance and gruff chuckle, he served to remind us not to take a situation or oneself too seriously. He had the endearing quality of ‘dropping in’ on people, unannounced, especially at suppertime, much to Dianne’s chagrin. Pat’s greatest gift was connecting with people. He easily built friendships and actively maintained connections, sending over 200 Christmas cards annually to relatives and friends. He will be remembered as a true gentleman - kind, intelligent, curious, caring, with a great sense of humour - who touched the lives of everyone he met. 

We would like to thank the Toronto Paramedic Service paramedics and the doctors, nurses and healthcare staff at the Brampton Civic Hospital who cared for Pat and showed us much compassion.

Family and friends are invited to join us in honouring Pat’s memory at a public visitation to be held at the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, 280 Beechwood Avenue, on June 5th from 5-7 pm. A memorial service will be held on June 6th at 1 pm with a reception from 2-5 pm.  For those unable to attend in person, a live stream link will be available on the Beechwood website.

In memory of Pat, donations made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be greatly appreciated.