Ginger, JP for Jefferson County, dies

A member of the Jefferson County Quorum Court died Friday.

Dr. Herman H. Ginger, 78, an optometrist in Pine Bluff for nearly 50 years, was the District 6 Justice of the Peace for Jefferson County. The 13-member Quorum Court is the governing body of the county.

A cause of death was unavailable Saturday.

County Judge Gerald Robinson had told Quorum Court members that Ginger was absent from the July 13 meeting after being diagnosed with covid-19. Robinson added that he had been hospitalized July 9.

The subject came up at the meeting because the Quorum Court was discussing whether to get new offices for the county coroner, the veterans service and the county health department. Ginger was a strong supporter of the measure.

“He was so passionate about this that he called me from the intensive care unit to give me his proxy vote,” Robinson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette earlier this month. “I can’t do that, but I told him I would. That’s how strongly he feels about this.”

The announcement about Ginger’s death came from the Jefferson County sheriff’s office Friday afternoon.

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of the Honorable Herman Ginger, who passed away today [Friday],” Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr., said in a statement. “I offer my sincere condolences to the Ginger family and friends during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”

During his terms on the Quorum Court, he served as chairman of the Finance Committee and the Public Safety/Emergency Services Committee. He also served on the Community Development and Grants Committee, and the Solid Waste/ Recycling Committee.