Crafton resident made community impact
Panthers fans gave Paul Herrmann a rousing 89th birthday gift when the University of Pittsburgh football team stomped Syracuse, 76-61, at Heinz Field on Nov. 26.
“The whole section sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him and we all had cupcakes,” said son Charles “Chip” Herrmann. “It was rare that he missed a game, and we have a lot of memories of Pitt Stadium and more recently of Heinz Field. We found a closet full of videos from almost every Pitt game.”
Mr. Herrmann died of natural causes at his Crafton home Friday. He was 89.
He was born in Carnegie and attended Carnegie High School, leaving to complete his secondary education at Riverside Military Academy in Georgia in order to prepare for entry into World War II. The war had ended by the time he graduated and he entered Westminster College, completing his degree at the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Herrmann was enrolled in Duquesne Law School when son Charles was born, prompting him to leave to support his growing family.
Mr. Herrmann began his professional life as a chemist with J&L Steel. He retired from the Allegheny County Controller’s office and the Property and Supplies Department.
He also shined in his community, serving as school director for Crafton and later Carlynton school districts for 18 years. Mr. Herrmann was a Crafton United Presbyterian Church elder, a member of Centennial and Scottish Valley F&AM for 59 years, and a 34-year member of Syria Shrine and West Hills Caravan #25 F&AM, for which he served as president.
Mr. Herrmann’s most lasting legacy may be as founding father of and beloved coach for C.I.T. Baseball (Crafton, Ingram, Thornburg) for many years.
“He was a pretty special person,” said Bryan Hilbert of Mount Washington, who met Mr. Herrmann when he was 10 and was coached by Paul and Chip Herrmann when he was 11.
“He told me that to be a good person and be a good man was more important than anything else in life. ... He always said it was important for people to give back to their communities, to build strong values. He loved baseball and he loved helping kids. He was a great coach, but there was so much more than that.”
Michael Williams of Raleigh, N.C., grew up in Crafton and joined the Hermann team when “I was an 11-year-old kid. He said, ‘Welcome. You’re now part of a Brandi Cleaners family [the team sponsor].’ He was always full of wit and always tried to stay positive. ... Even when I played college baseball, I could call up Chip, and Mr. Hermann if he was there, and ask ‘Could you take a look at my swing?’”
An endearing quality Mr. Williams remembers is the way Mr. Herrmann would address Little League mothers. “He’d call them Mother. He called my mother Mother Williams.”
Mickey Braithwaite of Crafton said that as a coach Mr. Herrmann “always made sure we had fun and he was a funny guy. He was always joking.”
When he was young his family and the Herrmanns went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., on vacation at the same time every year the children enjoyed the beach together.
Daughter Heidi Herrmann Lysaght of Crafton said Myrtle Beach was a favorite vacation place, where her father would sit in the sun and read the paper and the family would go walks and out to dinner together.
They saved fishing for Lake Erie. Her father taught her to fish and after that it was “put the chair up. Heidi does her own worm. And we start fishing. We were going to Erie this year. My license is lying on the table.”
Ms. Lysaght said her father “made time for his kids. Dad was my rock. He was here when I needed him to be a sounding board. He was such an intelligent guy. Very loving, Very giving. Always a kind word for everyone.”
“He was my hunting and fishing partner,” Charles Herrmann said. “We’d fish on the lake till sunset, spring and summer. If I had a regret in life it would be that I didn’t have him as the best man at my wedding.”
Mr. Herrmann was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn D. Herrmann, and son Dwight D. Herrmann. In addition to his daughter and son Charles, he is survived by his sister Bernice K. Herrmann of Carnegie, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Crafton United Presbyterian Church, 80 Bradford Ave., Crafton.
Memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607, or C.I.T Baseball/ Softball, P.O. Box 44168, Crafton, PA 15205.