Trinity Remembers Kenneth Hummel

Kenneth Earl Hummel, Ph.D., professor emeritus of mathematics at Trinity University, died on September 9, 2023. He was 85. 

Hummel was born on February 13, 1938, in Victoria, Texas. Kenneth earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics and physics from Sam Houston University and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Hummel served as a member of the Department of Mathematics at Trinity University from 1969 until his retirement in 2001. He enjoyed teaching in the classroom and gave students personal attention, especially those who had difficulty acquiring requisite mathematical skills. In 2022, Hummel established a scholarship for mathematics majors to help with their financial needs. He also served on several university committees, including one that dealt with employee benefits such as health insurance and campus safety. Hummel was particularly concerned with ensuring that employees with lower salaries could afford the cost of health insurance benefits similar to those attained by higher-paid faculty and staff. 

Beyond academics, Hummel had a wide range of activities and interests. A devoted husband and parent, he enjoyed travel expeditions at home and abroad with his wife, Judy, and sons, David and Bryan. Family trips included camping, hiking, climbing, caving, skiing, boating, swimming, and visiting museums and other cultural sites. An avid runner, jogger, and weightlifter, Hummel also dipped into yoga to enhance his physical well-being. Even those activities did not exhaust his energy and interests. A handyman with a wide variety of skills, he was adept at keeping everything in working order at home. As an outdoorsman, Hummel was a keen observer of the natural world, an advocate for environmental awareness, and comfortable riding a tractor and cultivating the family ranch in Bandera County. He had many friends and possessed a sense of humor that put people at ease.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Julia Hill Hummel; their two sons, Bryan and David, and daughter-in-law, Noelle Julian Hummel; and his brother Michael D. Hummel. Ken was preceded in death by his parents, Ebert A. Hummel and Rosalie Hilmers Hummel, and his sister Kathleen.