Cummings Chesney McCracken
March 3, 1927 – September 16, 2009

Cummings Chesney McCracken - Savannah - Cummings Chesney McCracken, also known as Chesney or Ches, 82, of Savannah, Georgia, husband of the late Sally Morss McCracken, died September 16, 2009 at The Oaks at The Marshes of Skidaway Island, under the care of Hospice Savannah and The Oaks.

Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Chesney was the son of the late Robert Wylie McCracken and Elizabeth Chesney McCracken. He was a member of Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church. Chesney was a 1945 graduate of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and enrolled at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Before joining his Yale classmates, Chesney enlisted with the United States Marine Corps, where he served as a US Marine during World War II. Chesney then returned to Yale, graduating in 1950. He continued his education with a Masters degree from Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 1954. While at Harvard, Chesney was recalled by the Marines and served during the Korean War.

After graduating from Harvard Business School, Chesney joined Morgan Guarantee Trust Company in New York City, New York as a Commercial Lending Officer specializing in Energy Lending, where he worked until 1982. During this time, he married Sally Elisabeth Morss on June 25, 1955 and raised four children in Westfield, New Jersey. While living in Westfield, Chesney contributed to the community in many different ways. He coached the Astros Little League Baseball team for 14 years, served as a Town Councilman, and held various positions within the First Congregational Church of Westfield. In addition he served as Treasurer of the United Church of Christ. In 1982, he and Sally moved to Boston Massachusetts, where Chesney continued his banking career as a Senior Financial Officer with The First National Bank of Boston.

Mr. McCracken retired in 1991 and moved to The Landings on Skidaway Island, Savannah, Georgia, with Sally. While there, Chesney was an active volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, an avid golfer and tennis player, and also served as a tennis referee. During his golf career at the Landings, Chesney achieved two "Hole in Ones" in a single year.

Surviving are his four children, one daughter, Elisabeth McCracken Connery and her husband, Tom, of Reading, Massachusetts; three sons, Robert Wylie McCracken II of North Brunswick, New Jersey and Quebec, Canada, Stuart Chesney McCracken and his wife, Lee, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Douglas Morss McCracken and his wife, Elizabeth, of Marietta, Georgia; nine grandchildren, Ian H. McCracken, Christian H. McCracken, Megan L. McCracken, Matthew T. Connery, Gregory S. Connery, William McCracken Connery, Christopher J. Connery, Caroline E. McCracken and Alexander Morss McCracken; one sister, Elizabeth McCracken Ross and her husband, Dr. Richard Starr Ross, of Baltimore, Maryland; one sister-in-law, Margaret Morss Stokes and her husband, John, of Waitsfield, Vermont; eleven nieces and nephews and seventeen great-nieces and nephews.

Memorial service will be held at two o'clock Sunday afternoon October 4, 2009 at the Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church conducted by the Associate Pastor, Zach Sasser. A private interment will be held in the Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden.

Remembrances: Hospice Savannah - Post Office Box 13190, Savannah, Georgia 31416, or Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church - 50 Diamond Causeway, Savannah, Georgia 31411.