Legal Scholar and Educator, Mentor, Friend, devoted Husband, Father, and Grandfather passed away at the age of 79 at Northwest Hospital in Seattle, Washington on April 17, 2012.
Richard was born November 23, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois, to Frederick and Edith Kummert.
He was an honored and distinguished scholar receiving degrees from the Illinois Institute of Technology (B.S. 1953), the University of Illinois (C.P.A. 1954), Northwestern University (M.B.A 1955) and Stanford University (LL.B. 1961).
After working as an associate attorney at O’Melveny and Myers of Los Angeles, he decided to devote his life to educating lawyers and joined the University of Washington Law School Faculty in 1964. He became a full professor in 1967 and continued to teach through 2010. He was awarded the D. Wayne and Anne Gittinger Professorship in 1994. Along the way, he served several years as Associate Dean, the Executive Director of the Law School Foundation and as the faculty advisor to the Washington Law Review. Richard’s work on the law school admissions process—involved in litigation to the U.S. Supreme Court—was important and nationally recognized.
He is well known in the Washington legal community as an expert in corporate law through his writing and his work with Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) committees on revisions to the state corporation act since 1975. He was a founder of and the guiding force on the WSBA Corporation Act Committee for nearly three decades. He was recognized with the President’s Award by the WSBA in 1989 for his contributions to revisions to the Washington State corporation act. Above all, his professional priority was on his students; he was known both for his subject matter expertise and his ability to teach others.
He combined excellence in his professional endeavors with a deep commitment to family. He is survived by his wife and best friend of 55 years, Carol Kummert; daughter, Julia (David) Guffey; son, Ted (Pam) Kummert; Grandchildren, Ellie and Alex Guffey, Amanda Mayer, and Nick, Alex and Ben Kummert. He, also, leaves behind his dog Jake who will continue to wait faithfully for his Master.
He loved to garden, he was a devoted (and at times crazed) fan of Husky sports and was an avid reader.
He brought strong values to all that he did; his impact on everyone and everything around him was enhanced by his kindness and concern for others. We will miss him dearly but move forward with the benefit of his wisdom, values and all that came from having known him.
There will be a celebration of Richard’s life at the University of Washington in William H. Gates Hall on Sunday, April 29th at 3:00 PM. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the “Richard O. Kummert Scholarship Fund” at the University of Washington Law School, William H. Gates Hall, Box 353020, Seattle, WA 98195.
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