Charles A. Hummel

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Charles A. Hummel, age 81, of Wayne, NJ.

Charles passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday February 27, 2023.

Charles was born in Brooklyn, NY and was the younger of two children to Charles and Margaret Hummel.  Charles’ family relocated to Paterson, NJ shortly after he was born, and then moved to the Lions Head Lake section of Wayne, NJ.  Charles spent his formative years in Wayne and attended Wayne Valley High School where he excelled in the sport of Basketball playing for the high  school boys’ varsity basketball team.  Following his graduation from high school in 1959, Charles, feeling deeply it in his heart to serve his country, enlisted in the United States Navy.  While in the US Navy, Charles served on the USS Wasp and also contributed to the USS Kitty Hawk being put into service.  Charles was able to see most of the world with the United States Navy.  He was stationed in various locations such as Egypt, Japan, the Philippines, Germany and Australia. Charles served honorable and proudly in the United States Navy from 1959 until 1962. 

After being honorably discharged from the US Navy, Charles set himself on the path of becoming a Wayne Police Officer.  He was a Wayne Police Officer for a couple of years when he married his high school sweetheart Barbara Warmus.  Barbara and Charles dated throughout high school and as fate would have it, they became husband and wife on May 31, 1964. 

The newlyweds settled in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne where they raised all four of their children Dwayne, Glenn, Pandie, and Michele.  The family remained in Wayne for the rest of their lives.  After the birth of their first child, Charles made the decision to leave the Wayne Police Department for his own safety and for his family’s piece of mind.  For the next seven years, Charles worked alongside his mother-in-law and father-in-law at their family owned delicatessen called the Salad Bowl in Bloomfield, NJ.  Later, Charles accepted a position with the McDonalds Corporation managing several McDonalds restaurants in Northern NJ.  As time went by, he was offered a position as curator for the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ.  Charles held this position for the next thirty years. 

Charles’ interest in Thomas Edison and antiques was sparked when he was a young boy.  He took a genuine interest and true fascination with an antique phonograph that his father owned.  Concurrent to being the curator for the Thomas Edison Museum, Charles also owned and operated a very successful antique business from his home until his passing.  He appeared on a variety of television networks for his antique collections, including The Discovery Channel, and ABC News.   

It was probably his experience with the US Navy that instilled Charles’ love of travel.  Throughout his life, Charles continued traveling to a variety of destinations all over the world including Japan, Germany, Amsterdam, and Korea.  In his travels, Charles not only met people from all cultures and walks of life, but made lifelong friends with those he met.  Charles also enjoyed frequenting his favorite restaurants with his wife Barbara.  Some of his favorite dining destinations included Pizza Man, Charlie Brown’s, Arthur’s Steakhouse, and most of all Lee Sushi. 

It was clear to those that knew Charles best, his greatest passion in life was for his family.  Nothing in the world meant more to Charles than providing for and spending time with his children and grandchildren.  Charles and Barbara cherished forty-five years of loving and loyal marriage until Barbara’s passing in 2009.  He and his family treasured their frequent vacations to the Jersey Shore and day trips to JFK International Airport to watch commercial planes land and take off.

Charles was a larger-than-life type of person who was kind and warm hearted.  He loved telling and hearing a good joke, particularly “one-liners.”  He made friends wherever he went and could talk to anyone about anything.  Charles also had an ability to captivate an audience, no matter what age, with his way of telling a story.  He had the type of personality and a way about him that lit up whatever room he was in.  He had a gift of bringing smiles to the faces of those around him.

Charles was a truly special person who touched the lives of everyone he knew. He will be forever remembered as a loving father, grandfather, and devoted husband.  He will be sincerely missed by his family and friends.

Charles is survived by his two daughters; Pandie Napolitano and her husband Vinnie of Wayne, NJ, and Michele George and her husband Mike of Rockaway Twp, NJ, two sons; Dwayne Hummel and his wife Diane of Pompton Lakes, NJ, and Glenn Hummel and his wife Natasha of Rockaway Twp, NJ, four grandchildren; Nicole Gregorio and her husband Rigo of Sparta, NJ, Alexa Napolitano of Wayne, NJ, Michael George of Rockaway Twp, NJ, and Ashley George of Rockaway Twp, NJ.  He was predeceased by his loving wife Barbara Hummel in 2009, and by his sister Peggy Gallandt.