Richard Donald Kummer

Richard Donald Kummer, 64, died Sunday, March 11, 2018, of renal failure at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air. He was surrounded by his closest family and friends during his final hours.

Mr. Kummer dedicated his life to public service. As a professional paramedic for the Baltimore City Fire Department and as a life member of the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, he assisted many with immediate medical needs. Throughout his 49 years of volunteering in the Harford County fire and ambulance community, he also was an EMS Lieutenant and a Captain with the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company and the Fallston Volunteer Fire Company. Mr. Kummer was among the top responders for many years, logging in well over 200 responses.

Mary Frances Graef, a cousin, spent a lot of time at Mr. Kummer’s family home in her youth. She remembers the CB radio coming on and hearing loud voices announcing a fire or a medical emergency. Mr. Kummer and his late father, Donald H. Kummer (also a life member of the Joppa-Magnolia Fire Company), would jump up, grab their coats, and run out the door to respond to the call. Unlike today’s sophisticated 911 system, sirens and the CB radio served as the main communication system for emergency responders during the 1960s and 1970s.

“As soon as the box squawked and the monitoring and report started coming through, everyone would stop and freeze (even the dogs), and we would all stand there watching father and son run out of the door,” remembers Ms. Graef.

Tom Schaech, past chief of the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, and past president of the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association was a colleague of Mr. Kummer. “Rick and I shared many passions in emergency services; from being paramedics serving in busy fire companies within the [Harford] County, to teaching classes in EMS together for a span of over 25 years. During the Chase, Maryland, Amtrak crash of 4 January 1987, Rick was by my side for over two days working triage and treatment of the injured,” recalled Mr. Schaech. “We kept that bond for over many years.”

Mr. Kummer not only assisted those in medical emergencies, he also shared on his vast medical knowledge through teaching. He taught classes for Emergency Medical Technicians at the University of Maryland system in addition to teaching CPR.

Before joining the Baltimore City Fire Department, Mr. Kummer worked as a dispatcher for the Harford County Communications Center, and he was a police officer with the Aberdeen Police Department from 1976 to 1979.

He and his Aberdeen police partner, Luis Caldero, remained life-long friends.

Mr. Kummer loved the outdoors. The autumn glory days in Western Maryland beckoned each fall. He would hike the mountains with his beloved dog, Jeb, at his side. While his eyes wandered across the mountains and valleys, he would reminisce about hiking the Alps in Germany during his college years. Mr. Kummer worked for six months through a college exchange program at a bakery in a small village near Fuessen in Bavaria. He climbed the nearby Zugspitze – the highest mountain in Germany, peaking at 2,962 m (9,718 ft) above sea level. He never returned to Germany, but his love for the country, it’s people, and customs stayed with him throughout his life.

“I met Rick in 1973 shortly after he returned from Germany,” said Karin Remesch, a native of Germany and a close friend who was like a sister to him. “We started sharing stories about German traditions and have been best friends ever since. Rick became a member of our family,” added Ms. Remesch. “Rick has spent Christmas Eve with us since the year we met, enjoying the old German tradition of lighting real candles on the Christmas tree.”

Christmas was Rick’s favorite holiday. He would start shopping early for just the right presents for all his friends and family. He urged everyone to send him a Christmas list. And it better be a long list because one present was never enough.

“He would walk into the door Christmas Eve, laden with presents, almost covering his towering 6-foot-4 body. Then he would go back to his car only to return with another load of carefully wrapped packages,” remembers Ms. Remesch.

Those who were with him during his final hours sang Christmas songs to him at his bedside – some in German, others in English.

Mr. Kummer, a history major in college, loved to read history books – not just about American history, but world history as well. He would eagerly share his knowledge of history with those who cared to listen. When it came to history or music or literature, he would beat anyone in trivia challenges.

Michelle Caldero, a close friend, and Mr. Kummer used to watch Jeopardy together. “He knew the answers before anyone even could hit their button.”

Football, baseball, and soccer were spectator sports he rarely missed watching. In his younger years he was quite an athlete himself. He played rugby and softball for Towson University and belonged to a softball league for much of his adult life.

“Rick was very competitive,” remembers his good friend, Steve Haas. “We played softball in college and later in a league,” he continues. “He was a big guy and played catcher; balls would hit him at full speed and just bounced off him.” Mr. Haas also remembers playing marathon flag football for charity during their college years. “He was so big, he would just go in and clear out the line.” Most of all though, Mr. Kummer is, and will always be, remembered for his loyalty and devotion to his friends and family, added Mr. Haas.

Mr. Kummer was predeceased by his parents Donald H. and Elizabeth Ann (Bettie, nee. Murray).

In addition to friends and family already mentioned, Mr. Kummer is also survived by cousins, Ann K. Murray, Mary Brandin, Ray Murray, Peggie Fairer, Teresa Sweeney, Rose Martino, and Kathy, Bridget, Patrick, Tim, Megan, & Angel Lavin, many great cousins, aunt & uncle, Bob & Doris Kummer from Florida and their children (Rick’s cousins) Kim, Jeff, Dave, & Bob, Jr., as well as close friends who were like family to him, including Nick, Maria and Ally Remesch; Dennis and Anita Remesch; Stephanie, Zach, Trevor, & Cari Haas; Alma Caldero; and Lynda and Ron Bates.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution in Mr. Kummer’s name to the Humane Society of Harford County, 2208 Connolly Road, Fallston, MD 21047.