Kenneth Gene Hummel

November 6, 1961 - June 29, 2024

Kenneth Gene Hummel, 62, passed away on June 29, 2024 in Reno, Nevada after a short illness surrounded by his family.
Ken was born on November 6, 1961 to Leslie R Hummel and Malissa (June) Key in Winnemucca, Nevada.
He was the 5th of 6 children and was raised with his siblings, Sharon, Melvin, Judy, Darren and Kevin in Winnemucca.
In his youth he was a Boy Scout, played baseball and basketball and trapped coyotes and cats with his step-father, Jim Murdock and his brothers.
He graduated from Albert Lowry High School in 1979.
After graduation, he moved to Oregon where he spent a few years working with family members, in construction and on a natural gas pipeline.
Ken always wanted to return to Nevada and this eventually brought him back to Winnemucca where he worked for a variety of construction companies.
He was working for Sonoma Construction in 1988 when he met Gloria Plaza while rebuilding her parent’s kitchen after a house fire.
They started dating September of 1988. During this time, Ken worked for Pinson Mine before beginning his 30 year long career with Sierra Pacific Power Company (NV Energy) as a plant mechanic in Valmy.
Ken and Gloria married April 2, 1995 and started their life together in Winnemucca. 1997 brought the birth of their first child, Anthony James.
Their family wasn’t complete until they welcomed their daughter, Allie Jean in 2002.
In 2005, they began building their dream home on their property on National Ave. They completed their home in 2006 and have resided there ever since.
Ken had a true love for the outdoors which gave him lifelong skills, nurtured who he was and made him happy.
Ken enjoyed many outdoor activities with his family and friends over the years such as snowmobiling, hunting, rafting, boating, camping, and rock hounding.
Ken also spent time as a white-water raft guide for Davis White Water Rafting.
He shared his love of the outdoors with his kids and some of his favorite memories included rafting down Hells Canyon on a yearly trip with both kids, numerous hunting trips with Anthony and shooting squirrels with Allie.
Ken also enjoyed watching a variety of sports both in person and on TV with Gloria but his favorite was watching the Chicago Cubs with her.
A funny quirk about Ken that his family often teased him about was his love of looking for coins.
He could often be found searching for coins in parking lots, vending machines, and under bleachers and coming back to share his findings with everyone with a proud smirk on his face.
Ken is survived by his wife of 29 years, Gloria, and his children Anthony (Katelyn) and Allie (Derek).
He is also survived by his siblings Mel Hummel (Debbie), Judy Quigley (Dave), Darren Hummel (Elaine), and Sharon Ream (Doug), sister-in-law Angie Reeder (David) and several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and good friends.
Ken was preceded in death by his father Leslie Hummel, mother June Murdock, step-father Jim Murdock and brother Kevin Hummel.
A memorial in Ken’s honor will be held Friday, August 2 at 11:00am upstairs in the Comstock room in the East Hall of the Winnemucca Convention Center.