Joan H. (Hubbell) Rumpel

Joan H. Rumpel

Joan H. Rumpel, 75, Hays, died Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at Hays Medical Center after a courageous battle with cancer.

She was born, November 16, 1939 in Frankfort, New York the daughter of Earl J. and Helen (Scott) Hubbell.  On August 26, 1961 she married Max L. Rumpel, PhD  in Utica, New York.  She graduated from Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica, NY, and received her BS degree in Chemistry from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY in 1960. She came to Kansas when she was one of only three females, out of a class of 50, who were selected for a graduate assistantship in chemistry at the University of Kansas.  While at KU, she met her future husband Max, and they returned to his native western Kansas when he was offered a job in the Chemistry Department at Fort Hays State in 1961.  She stayed home to raise their children during their first few years in Hays, and then decided “I want to try something different.”  She earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from FHSU in 1977 and joined the Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting at FHSU where she attained the rank of Assistant Professor and taught accounting for 34 years.  She was a Certified Public Accountant and was the advisor of FHSU’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity for more than 30 years until health issues forced her to step aside.  She was active on campus in several organizations, including stints on the Alumni Board and the Athletic Advisory Board.  She was involved in scholarship committees in both her department and university-wide, and  co-authored articles in several publications.  She was a member of the Messiah Lutheran Church, the Messiah Board of Directors, and the Messiah Lutheran Church Altar and Ladies Guilds.  A lifelong lover of music, she led the Messiah Children’s Choir for many years, and was a substitute organist at the church.  She also taught Sunday School, Midweek and Vacation Bible School, and served in many other parish leadership roles.  She was a member of the FHSU Faculty Wives, the American Association of University Women, and the Hubbell Family Historical Society.    She was a voracious reader of mysteries and history, an accomplished bridge player, and an avid sports fan following FHSU athletics, KU athletics, the Hays Larks, and the New York Yankees.  She was a prolific needle worker, knitter, and quilter, who shared her creations with a multitude of friends and family.  She relished traveling to visit family, historic sites, zoos and wildlife parks, and was always on the lookout for sources of information to add to her voluminous genealogical knowledge.

Survivors include her husband, of the home, a son Craig Rumpel of Charlottesville, VA, daughter Karen Rumpel-Lopez and husband Bart of Riverside, CA, a brother Scott Hubbell and wife Nancy of Inverness, FL, and two grandchildren Michael and Alexis Lopez.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother John Hubbell.

Funeral services will be at 2:30 pm on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at the Messiah Lutheran Church, Hays.  A private burial will follow in the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, north of Ellis, Kansas.  The family will receive friends from 1:30 until the time of the service on Saturday at the church.  In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorials to the church, the FHSU Athletic Department, or to the FHSU College of Business and Entrepreneurship, in care of the funeral home.  Condolences may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com