Charles John Himmelberg III, 93, of Lawrence, Kansas died on January 4, 2025. Charlie (Mick) was born on November 12, 1931, in North Kansas City, Missouri to Charles and Magdalene (Batliner) Himmelberg.
Mick attended Blessed Sacrament Grade School, Rockhurst High School and Rockhurst College, graduating in 1952 with a degree in Mathematics. He continued his education at the University of Notre Dame earning a PhD in Mathematics in 1957.
After graduate school, he returned to Kansas City where he worked at Midwest Research Institute before starting a 46-year teaching career at the University of Kansas in 1959.
That same year he met his lifetime love Mary Pat Hennessy through mutual friends at the Rockhurst Discussion Club. They married on January 27, 1962, and lived in Lawrence for 63 years where they raised their five children, Charlie, Ann, Mary, Joe and Patrick.
Growing up in the Himmelberg home meant lots of laughter, love and great math tutoring. Dad was wise and truly valued education and life-long learning. Kind and loving, he always focused on family first and was just the best dad. His humility was perhaps his most admirable trait, and his subtle sense of humor would emerge at the most opportune times.
In 1975, Mick took a sabbatical at the Institute of Mathematics in Florence, Italy. The entire family packed up for a semester in Florence. Travelling with five kids aged 2-11 was not without challenges, but the memories of exploring Italy in a VW bus (preserved on super-8mm film) are among the family’s favorites.
When the kids were young, he could be found laying bricks for patios and walkways which extended around the house. He loved working in his garden and around the yard. Many special days and evenings were spent enjoying the results of his work sitting on the patio with family and friends of all ages.
His research specialty was Topology, and he equally enjoyed teaching, especially Real Analysis. He served as Chairman of the Math Department for 21 years, overseeing the design and move of the department to Snow Hall. He co-authored many research papers with his colleagues over the years and especially enjoyed teaching and advising graduate students. He was recognized for excellence in teaching with several awards, including the G. Bailey Price Award for Distinguished Teaching, the University of Kansas Center for Teaching Excellence Award (1998) and the Kansas Math Association Distinguished Teaching Award (2001.)
Mick was a former member of St. John’s Catholic Church where he served on the Parish Council. He served on the board of directors for Catholic Charities of NE Kansas and served on the Curriculum Committee during the formation of Cristo Rey High School. Mick and Mary Pat were members of the building committee for the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center and enjoyed many years involving themselves in educational and social activities to support Catholic students at KU. In recognition of their long time service and support, they were awarded the St. Lawrence Award. After retiring from KU, they became active members of Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
Mick and Mary Pat loved to travel and enjoyed many trips within the US and abroad, especially enjoying the mountains and anywhere they could road trip. However, the most memorable and treasured tradition for the past 24 years focused on the entire family and was appropriately named ‘Kid Kaos.’ The annual summer vacation brought together all five kids, their spouses and 15 grandchildren. Destinations varied, with the most memorable being an Irish homecoming trip in 2013 when all 27 members of the family visited relatives in Galway, Ireland.
Mick’s search for knowledge made him a constant reader and he knew something about almost everything. He was a natural teacher and inspired learning, often answering a question with a deeper question. Above all, and at the end of the day, he was the best husband, dad and papa.
Mick is survived by his wife, Mary Pat, 5 children and 15 grandchildren, Charlie Himmelberg (Stephanie), Lucy and Adele; Ann Zimmerman (Matt), Abby Ybay (JJ), Natalie and Libby; Mary Luther (John), Madeline Combs (Tyler), Jack and Charlie Luther; Joe Himmelberg (Karla), Burke, Zoe, Jada and Quinn; Patrick Himmelberg (Kristin), Kate, Hank and Gracie, a great grandchild, Hudson Charles Combs, and his sister, Martha Callahan of Longwood, Florida.
Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, January 10, 2025, at 11:00am Corpus Christi Church, 6001 Bob Billings Parkway, Lawrence. Visitation will be at 10:00am. Burial at Mount Calvary Cemetery. Reception to follow at 1:00pm at Lawrence Country Club, 400 Country Club Terrace, Lawrence. Memorial contributions are suggested to Corpus Christi Catholic Church or the Charles J. and Mary Pat Himmelberg Math Graduate Student Award, established in 2017, c/o the KU Endowment Association.
