Wojciech KOMORNICKI

1950 - 2015

1950 - 2015 Longtime Professor at Hamline University After a life full of love, education, and gusto, died of cancer on Sunday, May 17, at age 65. He was loved by his wife of 40 years, Mary "Malou" (Hammond) Komornicka; daughter Jolanta Komornicka (Benjamin Webster) of Charlottesville, VA; brother Andrzej Komornicki of Redwood City, CA; brother-in-law Piotr Macko (husband of sister Halinka, deceased) of Krakow, Poland; sister-in-law Kathie Hammond (Manuel Baglanis) of El Cerrito, CA; brothers-in-law Elton Hammond III (Cynthia Strickland) of Lima, OH, and Pat (Sharon) Hammond of Ashland, WI; and nieces and nephews: Basia Jedrejczyk; Elizabeth Hammond, Elton Hammond IV, Sean Hammond, Brian Hammond; Christina Hammond and Janelle Hammond. Wojciech loved mathematics and spent his life sharing that love with his students at Hamline University where he taught for 38 years. He challenged and encouraged his students to be all they could be, taking them to conferences and preparing them for national competitive math exams. He never stopped learning, attending classes and seminars at the University of Minnesota up until a week before his death. Having become a computer program designer, he was always available to help other faculty members with computer challenges, or to use that skill to help nonprofit organizations better serve the community. Born to Kazimierz and Maria Komornicki in 1950, he spent his early years in a refugee camp in England before immigrating to the US, settling in Milwaukee, WI. He attended the University of Chicago, graduating in 1971, and continued on with graduate work in mathematics at the University of Virginia and the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he earned his PhD in 1977. Although he never lived in Poland, he defined himself as Polish, loving the country, its culture and history. He instilled that love of his Polish heritage and the language in his daughter, Jolanta. With his wife, he thrived outdoors, whether it be sailing, skiing, biking, hiking, canoeing or camping. It was about the only time he left mathematics behind, except for concerts and the theater. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on Memorial Day (Monday, May 25) at St. Frances Cabrini Church, 1500 Franklin Ave. SE., Minneapolis. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the "Wojciech Komornicki Summer Math Program" at the University of Illinois at Chicago. [Donations by check can be sent to: University of Illinois Foundation, 1305 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801-2962. The check should be made out to the University of Illinois Foundation with a note in the memo section that this donation is for the "Wojciech Komornicki Summer Math fund".]