PORTLAND – Hope B. (Cummings) Lichtman was born on May 7, 1929 in Bangor, daughter of Percy L. “Buck” Cummings and Winifred Leighton Cummings.

Her mother passed away after the birth of her sister, Ellen Cummings DeMichele, and she was raised by her grandparents in the Bangor area with frequent visits from her loving father. Her father married Vivian Perkins Cummings, giving Hope a stepmother and siblings Charles D. Cummings and Marlene Cummings Stokes, who she loved with all her heart.

Hope graduated from Bangor High School in 1947, and attended Providence Bible College. She was invited to spend the summer in NYC, and met a wedding singer named Bernard Lichtman, the love of her life. Their lives were focused on their love of God and their daughter, Susan Lichtman Maataoui, and on service to others.

After retirement, the couple relocated to Tampa, Fla. After losing her beloved Bernie, Hope spent her winters in Pasadena, Calif. and summers at her “camp” in Stetson. Hope and Susan soon moved to Maine, reconnecting with family and old friends. When Susan married Tayeb Maataoui in 2001, Hope opened her heart and welcomed a son.

Hope passed peacefully into the arms of God and her beloved Bernie on Sept. 17, 2021, surrounded by her brother, Chuck, sister-in-law Nancy Cummings, nephew Peter Cummings, and her “kids”, Susan and Tayeb.

Her loving family also includes Cristyn Cummings Hartley, Aaron Hartley, Madeline Hartley, and Caleb Hartley; Kristofer Cummings and Lily Cummings; Ronald and Charlene Leighton; Eleanor Leighton Britt, and many cousins; her extended Moroccan family, her “adopted” daughters Sally Howard, Debbie White, Ellen Patterson, and Sue Jones; and “Nana Hope” to Victoria Shepeluk.

Hope is predeceased by her father, mother, stepmother; sisters; husband; and many family members.

Hope’s family thanks the doctors and nurses at Maine Medical Center, who provided such wonderful care in her final days. There will be a private celebration of life at a later date, and Hope will be laid to rest in Florida.

Please honor Hope and Bernie with a gift to the Maine Cancer Foundation.

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