Harold - Hummel Jr.

Harold "Hal" Hummel Jr. The Mayor of Hummeltown left us too soon and unexpectedly on Wednesday November 5, 2014. Dang it! Most of you know him from Hummel Tire but he was so much more than his tire shop. He was born in the great state of Iowa in the town of Schaller to Harold and Irene Hummel on March 8, 1940. He left Iowa 18 years later and joined the Navy. He spent his first 3 years stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and his last year at Ferndale, CA where he met Kathy Campbell. What a ride they have had! He started working for Western Union selling communications systems to the Department of Defense. He held a top-secret security clearance. First stop, Sacramento, where Wendy was born. Second stop, he worked at the Pentagon. Lisa was born in Manassas, VA. Next stop was Colorado Springs, CO where he worked at NORAD. Then off to Kansas City, MO. He and Kathy had had enough of the city life and moved back to Fortuna in 1973. Before the tire shop he was the "Pepsi Man" for Southern Humboldt. In 1976, Hal and Kathy bought the tire shop with his brother Bill. And the rest, as they say, is history. He was a longtime supporter of FFA. He was a charter member of Fortuna Sunrise Rotary. He was Past-President of the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce. He was Fortuna Citizen of the Year. He was on the Rodeo Board. He was a Volunteer Firefighter with Company #1. He will be remembered by many at the tailgates with his boom-box singing "achy-breaky heart." And you can't forget the sight of him driving around town on his little red scooter. Hal was always asking people questions - getting to know them. He kissed all the little babies and loved to give out hugs to all the ladies that came in to the tire shop and he always had a story for the guys. He had an opinion on everything and he was very willing to share that opinion with you. Hal is survived by Kathy, his wife of 52 years; his daughters Wendy and Lisa; his grandchildren Kyle and Madeline; his brothers Bill, Lloyd, and Leroy and his sister MaryAnn. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law and many nieces and nephews. Please join us to celebrate an amazing and crazy man who enjoyed life to the fullest on Saturday November 15th at 1:00 at the Fortuna Fire Hall. Arrangements under the care of Goble's Fortuna Mortuary.

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