Retired Jefferson County deputy Don Cummines packed a lot of personality and energy into a small package.
“He was only about 5 foot 8, maybe 140 pounds,” said his son, Greg. “But he was tough. He wasn’t afraid to go face-to-face with a bad guy. He always joked he would just bite their ankles until they gave up.”
Mr. Cummines died Sept. 28 at age 76 following an apparent heart attack.
He grew up in south St. Louis County and went into the Army in 1962, right out of high school. After a two-year stint in the military, he graduated from the police academy and went to work for the St. Louis Police Department
“He was a beat cop who patrolled the downtown area,” Greg said. “He talked about some of the arrests he had made, and it had to be harrowing. It was a tough job and no one else wanted to do it, but he was young and courageous.”
Mr. Cummines transferred to the Fenton Police Department in 1973, then to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department in Hillsboro in 1993.
Over his long career in law enforcement, he encountered many dangerous and high-pressure situations, and one in particular changed his life, Greg said.
In 1998, he was shot in the head during a domestic disturbance call in Byrnes Mill.
“He knocked on the door, a woman answered and said her husband wasn't there,” Greg said. “But he was behind a dresser in the bedroom, and he came out and shot my dad in the head with a shotgun. The other officer was injured also, and he dragged my dad out.”
Greg said his father was in a coma for about a month and had to slowly regain nearly all his motor skills.
“Over time, he came back to as close to normal as you can imagine,” Greg said. “He fought with (then Sheriff Glenn) Boyer. He was mad Boyer wouldn’t let him go back out on the road.
“He had seven or eight pellets in his brain, but he wouldn’t take disability retirement. He was put in charge of the (Jefferson County) Jail, and he was proud of the changes he made and the way he got it running better.”
Mr. Cummines never brought the pressures of his job home with him, Greg said.
“I remember him getting phone calls and he’d have to rush out of the house. But he didn't tell me about the specifics.”
Mr. Cummines did share some aspects of his work with his son, though.
“He was on the major case squad for a while,” Greg said. “He built his own darkroom to process photos. I used to help him take the film out, dip them in the chemicals, hang them up. He took a lot (of photos) for work, and some for pleasure.”
Mr. Cummines also worked on electronics for the Sheriff’s Department, which is now called the Sheriff’s Office.
“He installed all the two-way radios, all the lights and sirens in all the cop cars,” Greg said. “He had no formal training; he just figured things out. And he volunteered all that work.”
Mr. Cummines was also something of an entrepreneur.
“He and another guy owned a restaurant in Cedar Hill called Brian's in the 70s,” Greg said. “It was a business deal that happened in the living room of our house. The partner ended up running off to Texas with the money, and dad had put his life savings into it.”
Greg said his dad also ran a polygraph business in the mid-1990s and was a bowling instructor.
“He bowled a 300 once,” Greg said. “It was amazing to watch, with everybody crowding around as he threw strike after strike.”
After he retired in 2009, Mr. Cummines worked as a bus driver for Vandalia Bus Lines.
“He also drove for a local nursing home,” Greg said. “The seniors loved him.”
About five years after the Mr. Cummines was shot, he bought a motorcycle.
“He joined the Blue Knights, a law enforcement officer bike club, and went to the Sturgis (annual motorcycle rally) in 2012 with his niece and her husband.”
His enthusiasm was infectious; Greg ended up buying a bike and went to the 75th-anniversary Sturgis rally with his dad in 2015.
“We had so much fun,” Greg said.
Mr. Cummines also rode with the Patriot Guard.
“He loved doing that,” Greg said. “That bike is in his garage right now.”
Greg said his father kept the details of his health struggles to himself.
“He went through major surgery for esophageal cancer and never told me about it till much later,” he said. “He also refused to take anti-seizure medications recommended by doctors after his brain injury. The medical examiner told me his death might have something to do with his pellets.”
Mr. Cummines died at his home.
“He was found dead on the floor of his bedroom on a Monday,” Greg said “It looked like he had been dead since Saturday. I prayed he would die at work, but this is how God wanted him to go.”
Greg said his dad will be remembered for his “relentless commitment to helping others.”
“Of course, he would say, ‘It’s just my job,’ but you wouldn’t believe the lengths he went to to help everybody.
“He wanted to do everything for everybody, but never wanted to take anything in exchange.”
“Life Story,” posted Saturdays on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.