Obituaries : Mary M. Hummel; Founder of Clinic

Mary M. Hummel, founder of Clinicas Del Camino Real Inc., died at her Santa Paula home Saturday after a brief illness. She was 74.

Hummel, who was born Dec. 18, 1921, in Flagstaff, Ariz., was a longtime Ventura County resident.

She received a bachelor of science degree in nursing in Arizona and worked as a registered nurse for the Ventura Public Health Department for many years. She had been a nursing instructor at Ventura College, member of the Medical Quality Assurance Board, member of the Santa Barbara and Ventura Health Systems Agency, and a commissioner on the Santa Paula Housing Authority.

Hummel started the Santa Paula Free Clinic in the early 1970s. In 1975, the clinic received state funding as a rural free clinic that targeted underserved farm workers.

“She shared a karate studio at the beginning and then rented two units of a motel in Santa Paula,” said Roberto S. Juarez, executive director of Clinicas Del Camino Real. “More than 25 years later, it’s still in existence and there are seven sites. What she started now serves 70,000 people a year.”

Hummel was also a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Paula and taught Catholic classes.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Franklin Eugene Hummel; her sister, Amelia Herrera, and her brother, Leon Aginiga.

She is survived by her daughters, Jovita Hummel of Santa Paula, Laurie Merrill of Fillmore and Janice Niles of San Diego; her sister, Rebecca Chang of Los Angeles; her brothers, Ben Aginiga of Flagstaff and Steven Aginiga of Boulder City, Nev., and seven grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2 to 5:30 p.m. today at Pierce Brothers Stetler Mortuary in Santa Paula.

Rosary will be held at 7:30 tonight at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Mass of the Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. It will be officiated by Father Arturo Gomez of Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Los Angeles. Burial will follow in Santa Paula Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the Memorial Nursing Scholarship in Mary M. Hummel’s name at the Ventura College Foundation in Ventura.

* Eiki Kato; Lifelong Oxnard Resident

Eiki Kato, a lifelong Oxnard resident, died Jan. 2 in an Oxnard hospital. He was 61.

Kato was born April 16, 1934, in Oxnard and graduated from Oxnard High School in 1952.

When he was 8 years old, Kato and his family were interned at Gila River, Ariz., a Japanese American camp, for more than two years during World War II.

“His second brother, Victor, was born at this camp and my father took great pride in the fact that he fulfilled the eldest son’s duties in helping his parents through that tumultuous time,” said his daughter, Sandy N. Kato of Oxnard. “He would beat anybody to the mess hall to get his mother food while she was pregnant. He had a lot of responsibility being Japanese and Buddhist. He had a lot of stories from there.”

Kato helped run his family’s business, Oxnard City Cleaners, for many years and also tended bar and enjoyed catering large barbecues and parties. He then worked as a lab technician at Kato Dental Lab, which he ran with his brother and former Oxnard mayor, Tsujio Kato, until he retired in 1994.

When Kato was younger, he enjoyed hunting, fishing and martial arts, and was a member of the Oxnard Judo Club. He was also an active member of the Oxnard Buddhist Church, where his mother was a founding member and he was past president and treasurer.

Kato was preceded in death by his first wife, Zenaida Martinez, and his brother, Tsujio.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife of 21 years, Winifred Kato of Oxnard; his son, Jim E. Kato of Oxnard; stepdaughters Kathy Doyle of Iowa and Debra Froide of San Diego; stepson David D. Doyle of Jamul; brothers K. Victor Kato and Ron Kato, both of Oxnard; sister Loraine Lieppman of Long Beach; six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at 7:30 tonight at the Oxnard Buddhist Church. Burial will be private.

Arrangements are under the direction of Payton Mortuary in Oxnard.

Hovley, Margaret Jane Coleman, 74, of Ojai, retired antique shop owner. Clausen Funeral Home, Ventura.

Robb, Dayne B., 72, of Nutrioso, Ariz., formerly of Ventura, homemaker. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.