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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Cummings' mother dies
Rock legend credits her with making career possible
Rhoda Cummings embraces her son, Burton, in 2004 after he was presented with photos of his past performances at the Winnipeg theatre that now bears his name. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store
THE beloved mother of former Guess Who frontman Burton Cummings has died.
In a post on his Facebook page, Cummings said his mother, Rhoda, died Friday night shortly after 10 p.m. following a stroke earlier in the week.
Cummings, who has been by his mother's side in recent days, credited her with fostering his music career. She started him in piano lessons at age five, nagged him a little to practise and encouraged his passion for music even when he dropped out of high school.
"She was a wonderful, strong woman," wrote Cummings. "My father was abusive to her, and yet way back in the 1940s she had the strength to grab me and leave him."
Rhoda Cummings worked at Eaton's while she raised Cummings in their Bannerman Avenue home.
"I never knew my dad, but I lacked for nothing as a kid. Matter of fact, I had a childhood that most kids would envy," wrote Cummings. "I was always loved and looked after by my family and I couldn't have had a better mother."
Cummings said there will be no funeral service and asked that no flowers or donations be made in her memory.
"Just think of her once in a while," wrote Cummings. "That's more than enough."
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 27, 2012 A3
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