Mona Pearl Bryant was born in Roane, TX, near Corsicana, and later moved to Louisiana. Her father, Gideon Byron Bryant, worked in the oil business in Louisiana and South America. She married Sherwood Curtis Cummings on June 2, 1920 in Mooringsport, LA. "Mona B." was a schoolteacher and worked in education most of her adult life. Mona's sister, Shelia, was known for her "bluebonnet paintings" of rural Texas. Mona Bryant Cummings was a Southern Baptist and Amazing Grace was her favorite hymn.