Born Nov. 20, 1932, in Vicksburg, Miss. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., graduating in 1954 with a bachelor's degree in physics. He then attended Yale University, graduating in 1956 with a master's degree in nuclear physics. One semester shy of earning a Ph.D., he was hired at LLNL, then known as Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory. He spent most of his career working in the magnetic mirror fusion program, making many important contributions. During his last few years at the Lab, he worked for President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. He was an Individual Affiliate of Fusion Power Associates up to the time of his death.
Bill was a talented musician. During graduate studies at Yale, he performed with the Boston Symphony as a substitute flutist. He was an avid ham radio operator, active for more than 65 years. He also was a member of the San Francisco Bay Area U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, American Physical Society, I.E.E.E and Applied Electromagnetic Computational Society.
During the past few years, he courageously struggled with the debilitating effects of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer and Parkinson's disease. In 2010, he relocated to Decatur, Ga. to be near his family.
He is survived by his three children and their spouses; daughter, Alice and and her husband, Rick Bush of Shawnee, Kan., son, William D Cummins and his wife, Donna of Decatur, Ga., and son, Charles and Susan Cummins of Lilburn, Ga.; former wife, Mary Alice Cummins of Atlanta, Ga., brothers, John Pickett Cummins of Lawrenceville, Ga. and Edmund Cummins of Buford, Ga, his half-sister, Gloria Dale Cummins of Kennewick, Wash., five grandchildren; Lee Bush of Milwaukee, Wisc, Jim Bush of Kansas City, Kans., Bonnie Bush of Kansas City, Kan., Caleb and Christopher Cummins of Lilburn, Ga, his great grandson, Benjamin Bush, and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by Betty Verchota who he married in 1982. She died in 2009 after a long illness.
A memorial service was held Wednesday, March 7, in Decatur, Ga. Charitable donations may be made to the COPD Foundation, Compassionate Care Hospice, American Parkinson's Disease Assoc., or the American Lung Association.