Brentwood resident Cynthia Burroughs Hummel died on Feb. 16, 2012 at the age of 98.

Cynthia was born on Feb. 18, 1913 in Oakland to Benjamin R. Burroughs and Edna Nelson Burroughs. In 1936, in Knightsen, she married Vaughn Lloyd Hummel, who preceded her in death in 1995.

Cynthia was a true daughter of Contra Costa County. She grew up on Burroughs Brothers Dairy, started by her father in 1906. She attended the Iron House School and later Liberty Union High School. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley.

Soon after she and Vaughn were married in 1936, they built the home they were to live in together for almost 60 years on a corner of the Burroughs ranch. They called it “Hummel House.” Cynthia was an adventurer and traveler. Her life experience was varied. She was an educator, teaching in the local elementary school and high school. She gave piano lessons and was an accomplished pianist herself.

Cynthia was involved in community groups and acted in amateur theater. She and Vaughn had the perfect venue for performing plays in their own home. She is remembered for playing a star role on the Hummel House “stage” as Elena Ivanovna Popova in Chekov’s one-act play “The Boor.” Vaughn and Cynthia seemed in their element in that play.

Cynthia also exhibited her paintings in local art shows. Her family remembers her best for making a warm and beautiful home.

Cynthia loved life and lived a long one. In her last years, she was cared for by her daughter Sayra and Sayra’s family. Cynthia and Vaughn lost their first daughter, Judith, when she was a baby. Their son Lloyd died in 1995. She is survived by daughters Jennifer Johnsen and Sayra Flores, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.