Linda Cummins West

Linda was born Linda Getlina on September 14, 1987 in Riga, Latvia when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union. In pursuit of the American dream, Linda and her mother Baiba emigrated to the United States in 1991 when Linda when three and a half years old. Neither of them spoke any English, Baiba didn’t know how to drive a car and they arrived in their new home country with three suitcases, $60 and a place to stay in the home of a relative in Winston Salem NC.

In 1996, when Linda was eight, she and Baiba welcomed Robert “Skip” Cummins into their family when Baiba and Skip married in Beaver Creek CO. Linda started calling Skip “Dad” shortly after the marriage and he officially became Linda’s father when he adopted her in the fall of that year.

Linda took full advantage of the extraordinary educational opportunities in America. She graduated from The Kincaid School in Houston, TX with high honors in 2006, Dartmouth College with a BA in Mathematics in 2010 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2017.

Linda received many awards and honors including as a member of the Dartmouth Equestrian team, as a classical pianist, as a kart racer, and as a student. Prior to earning her DVM in 2017, she studied or worked in Brussels, Belgium, St Petersburg, Russia, South Africa where she did veterinary work in various game preserves, Steamboat Colorado where she was a ski instructor, and in Houston TX where she was an analyst Reasoning Minds.

After graduation from A&M, Linda joined the Creature Comfort Animal Clinic in Arlington TX as a veterinarian. She was totally dedicated to the practice of veterinary medicine, loved working at Creature Comfort and loved providing care and compassion to pets of all kinds and their owners.

Linda had many passions. The piano, puzzles, skiing, scuba diving, travel, horseback riding, cooking, entertaining, and her five dogs.

She is survived by her mother Baiba in Leander TX, her brother, Max at the University of Texas in Austin, her father Skip in Las Vegas, NV, two aunts in Cumming GA and two aunts and an uncle in Latvia.

The memorial service is 2:00 pm Sunday September 22, 2019 at Moore Funeral Home Arlington, Texas.

In Lieu of flowers memorials may be Made to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1rbvf981io?pc=em_db_co2876_v1&rcid=069db8563430482b8d0529c3e4607a12