Joseph Nicholas Herman

Aug. 25, 1938 – Dec. 5, 2022

Joseph Nicholas Herman: A Life Well Lived.

Joseph Nicholas (Nick) Herman, 84, passed peacefully into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Monday morning, Dec. 5, 2022, after a brief stay in the North Big Horn Hospital near his home of Basin, Wyo.  This last year and a half he valiantly battled an unusual unnamed illness.

He was born on Aug.25, 1938 in Eaton, Colo., to Rose Marie (Studer) Herman, a nurse, and Joseph William Herman, a cowboy turned plumber.  He grew up with parents who started out not having much but made a good life for their family through grit and determination.    He grew up with his younger brother Ken, enjoying the nearby mountains and ranches that took root in his heart and remained among his favorite places to be throughout his life

Nick only talked when he had something to say.  He was humble, smart, fun, courageous, funny, faithful and caring.  He had the utmost integrity and character.  We loved hearing about his adventurous spirit and rambunctious ways.   In his senior year of high school he was caught smoking in the boys bathroom which resulted in him being expelled from school.  He couldn't tell his parents so he ran away and got a job as a cowboy on a ranch near Granby, Colorado, in the dead of winter.  He lived in the bunkhouse with the other cowboys, and his first night there one of them shut off the lights by shooting them with his pistol since no one wanted to get out of bed in the cold.  Nick's dad eventually found him and brought him back home and also talked the school into allowing him to finish his senior year.  He was an A and B student and an athlete.  He was also prom king.  It was quite a year.

After graduating from high school in 1958, Nick worked travelling with a seismograph crew around the west during the gas and oil boom.  In March, at age 19, he decided he wanted to serve his country and joined the Army from 1958-1961. His basic training was at Ft. Ord in California followed by 2 months at Ft. Smith, then he spent two years in Augsburg, Germany as a member of the 24th Infantry Division's 13th Artillery.  He was a fire direction center leader in the artillery's Battery D. While in Germany he received two 2-week leaves where he enjoyed touring Italy and France.   He ran track for his team there, learned discipline, leadership and camaraderie. Plus he was delighted in what German culture had to offer, especially foreign food and cars.  He was proud to serve his country.  He attended 1 1/2 years of college at CSU in Ft. Collins, CO.  Later, he got a job through a friend at the Mountain Bell phone company and that began his 40 year career.

Nick was married to the love of his life Neda Mae (Williams) Herman, June 6, 1966, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Their relationship was a blind date and double date set up by Nick's cousin Kirk to the National Stock Show in Denver.  Her first impression was that he was a dashing dresser and a quiet guy, which her chatter made up for, and she was instantly captivated by his sense of humor, and good manners, all while being handsome and tall. For their honeymoon, they drove his Swedish Saab down to Mexico which really interested the locals that always gathered around to look it over.  For their 1st anniversary they planned a camping trip through the Black Hills.  Upon reaching South Dakota it began raining and soon the windshield motor burned out.  So then it was Neda's job to open the glove compartment and manually move the wipers back and forth.  It ended up being an irritating trip but they've been partners in life ever since. 

Two years after they were married, they had their daughter Kara, and two years after that they had Todd.  Nick settled in to being the best father anyone could ask for.  As babies he could calm their crying when no one else could.  He was the fun one, always joking and pranking, and his life centered around being a family man.  They moved to Basin, Wyoming for the good life in 1978.  He and Neda raised a couple of active teenagers, but Nick got through it with his never ending patience.  He taught Kara and Todd responsibility and a good work ethic.  He loved working on the farm, raising animals, growing hay as a crop and working together as a family.   He taught Todd the love of hunting and guns.  Many of his hunting vacations were with Neda and Todd in the Big Horn Mountains and hills around Basin.  He was also an avid trap shooter and thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie of the Basin Gun Club.   He taught Kara a love for traveling and hot sauce.  When he and Neda visited her in Germany he waved to people while driving on the Autobon like it was highway 14 in Wyoming, and he wore Wranglers and cowboy boots in 105 degree heat and humidity in Thailand. 

Nick was happy and healthy for the better part of his life.  He loved Catherine, Todd's wife, like a daughter.  During his retirement years his grandkids were his joy and happiness, especially when eating ice cream and cookies. He rarely missed their games, recitals, or programs.  He breathed a sigh of relief when Kara married Brent, his smart, responsible and caring son-in-law.  Nick went through life not only happy but content and never complaining, even when his mind was there but his body was completely failing him.  He was honest and brave--but most of all, he was wonderful.  A life well lived is never a truer statement.

Nick is survived by his wife Neda of 56 years, their 2 children Kara and Todd and their spouses, 3 grandchildren Lane, Caylee, and Toree, his brother Ken Herman, sister-in-law Barbara Williams, and nieces Gwyn and Toni and nephews Alan and David.  He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, all of his aunts and uncles and a nephew Randy Finch.

He enjoyed morning coffees at the men's Basin coffee group, and membership at the Basin Gun Club, American Legion Post #29 and First Baptist Church of Basin where he proudly served as a deacon and elder.

We would like to thank all of the wonderful help provided by Home Health Care, Stillwater Hospice, CNAs, nurses, doctors, and Gottsche, Shelly and Cathy, and all therapists for their compassionate and skilled care provided to Nick in his final months of life. Special thanks to Pastors Aaron Gesch and Brett Suiter for their love and compassion and to the many who stopped in to visit.  And thank you to Kevin and Sally, the best neighbors ever.

A visitation will be held 4-6 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Atwood Family Chapel in Basin. The funeral will be held 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at the First Baptist Church of Basin, with graveside services and dinner to follow. Memorial contributions may be made to Camp Bethel, 1710 US Highway 14 E, Shell, WY 82441. Arrangements have been entrusted to Atwood Family Funeral Directors.