Obituary of Clifford Jerome Hummel

Clifford Jerome "Cliff" Hummel, 91, formerly of Newton, passed away Saturday, June 29, 2013, at Mennonite Friendship Manor in South Hutchinson, KS, under the care of Hospice. Cliff, the son of H. H. and Martha Josephine (Clifford) Hummel, was born January 27, 1922, in Monroe, Jasper County, Iowa. Cliff is survived by his wife Iva Mae (Babcock) Hummel. She was, as he said, the light of his life. His five children: Chistine (Denis) Ward of Oak Grove, LA, Catherine (Patrick) Dunnam of Fort Worth, TX, Kevin Hummel of South Hutchinson, KS, Kimberly (Cindy) Hummel of Cleburne, TX, Kari (Rickey) Burks of Hutchinson; KS, his five grandchildren and one great-grandchild: Matthew George, Elisabeth (Jeffrey) Graber and their daughter Lily Mae Graber; Iva Dunnam, Melody Hummel and Zack Burks. Other survivors include a brother Don (Betty) Hummel and families of Newton. Cliff attended school in Newton, and graduated from Newton Senior High, Class of 1941. After high school, Cliff went into the US Navy, serving in World War II, as part of PT Squadron #211 in the Atlantic Theater. Completing service, Cliff went on to attend and graduate from AIB Business College in Des Moines. He was later called back to proudly serve in the Korean War, returning to Newton, he bought Gray's Lounge in 1952, where he and Iva, as partners in marriage and business, worked together. Then in 1963, built Cliff's Restaurant. In 1967, the business was sold to his brother Don Hummel, as Cliff and Iva embarked on a new journey and moved to Fort Worth, TX, where they owned and operated Ethan Allen Furniture Stores. Both sons Kevin and Kim were involved in the operation. In Fort Worth, Cliff was involved in many aspects of the community. He belonged to the Sales and Marketing Executives, Retail Furniture Association, Chairman of the Ridgelea Country Club Greens Committee, where he served on the board of Directors, and Board of Directors at Gateway National Bank. Cliff was a Rotarian for 45 years and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was named as honorary member of the Texas A&M 1939 football champions, Charter member of the Knights of Columbus in Granbury, TX, where he also served the community delivering meals-on-wheels for several years. In Fort Worth he volunteered for many years at John Peter Smith Hospital. He was a lifetime member of the Newton VFW, American Legion and Elks Club. Second to his passion for working with others, was Cliff's obsession with golf. He loved the game and played well. In addition to playing in many competitive tournaments in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, he also played for charities, playing once with Mickey Mantle. However his proudest golf memory was playing at the Augusta National Golf Course in Oct. 1973. His favorite charity tournament was Big Brothers & Big Sisters, for which he was awarded several Big Daddy Trophies. He played in the yearly Ridgelea 400 Golf Tournament, during his golf years, and won a few victories, many of those playing with an old friend from Newton, Dr. Fred Carpenter, and the whole family enjoyed the activities. Cliff was a man who could strike up a conversation with just about anyone. He will be remembered for his boisterous personality and great sense of humor. He didn't have to work hard to make his grandchildren laugh. He always had a story to tell, and never wanted for a willing audience. He lived a full and happy life filled with old friends and new. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. Cliff was preceded in death by his parents; and two sisters: Judy Gray and Jane Hughes. A Time of Remembrances for Cliff, was held Friday, July 5, 2013, at Mennonite Friendship Manor Chapel in South Hutchinson, KS. Memorials have been designated in Cliff's name to: Mennonite Friendship Manor Community Endowment Fund @ 600-W. Blanchard, S. Hutchinson, KS 67505 or Our Lady of Guadalupe @ 612 - S. Maple, S. Hutchinson, KS 67505. A Memorial and Interment service will be held at a later date, at Pence ~ Reese Funeral Home in Newton, who have been entrusted with the arrangements. FROM CLIFF'S Grandchildren Zack I may have only known so much of my grandfather and who he really was besides my Pop. But that is all it took for me to see who he was to me, the last time I saw him this past Christmas. I was able to see him in a way I had never before and it showed me everything I need to know of this man Clifford Hummel. My pop. We looked at each other and I knew that was the last time I would see him, and he I and that after 26 years of him counting my ribs and being any thing I could ask of a grandfather and all the things I would never know of his life that I was grateful to have that amazing experience that I can say with out a doubt changed my life, I miss him now and will always but I will rest knowing he is at peace. Melody My Sweet Pop A piece of me went with you the day God called you home. My Pop was a person of great warmth, humor and love. He always showed me that I was loved because of who I am as an individual. He knew nobody was perfect, he understood what it was to forgive, and mostly he always wanted you to know you were loved by him more than you could realize. I had a wonderful conversation with my Pop not too long ago. He was so caring and alert, and I was surprised to find that he remembered some of the most precious moments we shared together. He mentioned that one of his wishes was for me to remember him how I always have and not how he is in the present or will be in the years to come. We were able to share a few minutes of laughter and love that will be with me forever. Everything a grandfather could be to me- he was. My relationship with Pop takes me to one of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes:"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" I am so thankful to have been born into a family that had a man like Clifford Hummel in it. Ivy I remember the first time you babysat me like it was yesterday. You came over and went straight to the tv room. You called me in there and said come sit here with Pop and watch the game. I politely said no thanks I am gonna go play with my legos but if you need me come get me. I could hear you chuckling in the next room. From then on you were always available to sit for me and as I got older we watched movies. You never made me go to bed until my parents pulled in the driveway. You would say quick make a break for it and i would hit the floor running to my room and dive into bed. You would then try to convince my mom I went to be early and was a perfect angel. We would all laugh and you would give me a hug and kiss good bye. Those times were some of the best in my life and I will never forget them. Elisabeth Comfort, adventure, laughter. These are the words I associate with childhood memories of my grandfather, Pop. As far back as I can remember Pop and recliner have been synonymous. If you couldn't find him, the first place to check was back in the den in his easy chair. We would often arrive at his house and ask Nonny where he was, and were told we could find him there. That usually ended the hunt. I often remember using these chairs as a toy, how cool that a seat could be pushed up and down with a handle! And Pop always made it look like this was the most comfortable place on earth to be. So I associate him with the comfort of a lazy Sunday afternoon nap in a recliner. The second thing I remember is how totally awesome I thought it was to ride around town in Pop's blue Jeep. This was no ordinary car, it was big and rugged and perhaps this is where my life-long love of Jeeps began, in my love for Pop, how cool I thought he was, and how much I enjoyed riding along, pretty much anywhere, in this vehicle. To a five year old, that was about as close to 007 as it got, and that meant I had the coolest grandpa ever. The last, and most important thing, I associate with childhood memories of Pop is the laughter. I can remember him asking me if I "wanted my ribs counted", but being told that in order for this procedure to take place I had to swear not to laugh. It wasn't funny. It was serious business. Of course, he then did everything in his power to make me laugh before one finger even got remotely close to touching me. He didn't have to tickle his grandkids to have them in stitches, all he had to do was wave his hands in your face and make goofy sounds and it was over. When I finally got old enough that I could let the counting take place without so much as cracking a smile it was like a rite of passage. Instead of him asking me, I would march in and say, "count my ribs, I'm not going to laugh this time". Then he was the one who would laugh before he finished. I also remember the laughter surrounding stories of his childhood he would share with us. Everything was always overdramatized and silly to be certain. His favorite anecdote was about how when he was a very young boy, who could barely even talk, his parents scrubbed him down and dressed him up so that he could stand in front of the church and sing, "It ain't gonna rain no more no more, it anin't gonna rain no more. How in the heck can I wash my neck if it ain't gonna rain no more?" When he told this story, somehow in my mind, a child who looked exactly like the adult Pop, only small, stood singing this song and it made me laugh every time. I'm certain he made it his mission to keep us kids rolling on the floor, most of the time. When I was in high school I got the opportunity to interview Pop for a school project, and I think this is when I began to see him not just as a grandparent, but as a person. He answered my questions with the same self-deprecating humor he had used to tell us stories as kids, but now he was talking about a real life adventure, not just driving around in a blue Jeep. He told that story from, you guessed it, a reclining chair, and I started to realize that Pop was a pretty amazing guy. I now understood the depth of his life as a soldier, father and business man, and how his amazing sense of humor pervaded all these areas in his life. When my own daughter was a little over a year old we found a children's music CD that had the song "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" and this immediately took me back to my own childhood with Pop. I now realize what joy I felt whenever I was in his presence, and I want to thank him for my own silly side that he passed down first to my mom, then to me. I thank him for a sense of humor to laugh through good times and bad. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." ? Atticus Finch