Pontotoc Co., OK - Obits: Dr. J. Chalmers Herman ******************************************************* This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb by: Rita Floyd USGenWeb Archives. Copyright. All rights reserved http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ******************************************************* Obituaries from the Ada Evening News, Pontotoc Co., OK. Date of editions are given at beginning of each section. Submitted by Rita Floyd. -------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, May 20, 2003 J. CHALMERS HERMAN Dr. J. Chalmers Herman, for 27 years head of the Foreign Language Department at East Central University, passed on last week in Ada. Born in 1914 in New Orleans, Professor Herman arrived at East Central in 1952 and shared his passion for Spanish, Spanish literature and Latin American civilization with thousands of students over the years. Classes were for learning grammar or discussing novels like "Don Quixote." But at gatherings of the Spanish Club, Dr. Herman led students in singing popular songs like "La Cucaracha" and "Besame Mucho" in his strong, baritone voice. The first year at ECU, Dr. Herman did not have enough students for a full foreign language schedule so he helped out with some English classes. But growth was quick, and the department soon had three people teaching Spanish, French and German. In 1961 he accepted a position at what is now Emporia State University in Kansas. But after a year there, he decided to return to his beloved East Central where he continued to teach until retiring in 1980. The Adan was active professionally on a national level, holding for a year the post of secretary-treasurer of the American Association of Teachers of spanish and Portuguese. For 19 years he served as adviser to he association's local "chapters" across the United States and as an associate editor of its journal, "Hispania." "Dr. Herman's efficient execution of his work is one of life's few constants," the editor of "Hispania," Irving Rothberg, wrote in 1974 when the ECU professor stepped down from the two posts. Throughout World War II the Louisiana native served in the Panama Canal Zone with the U.S. Office of Censorship, monitoring communications to detect leaks of sensitive information. He ran the operation's office in Cristobal on the Atlantic side of the canal. In 1944 he returned to New Orleans briefly to marry a childhood friend, Charlotte Morse Ashley, his wife for almost 59 years. Herman got a first taste of foreign languages and travel as a teenager when he spent summers in Cuba with an aunt who worked there as a Methodist missionary. At ECU he passed on that love of travel, ancient cultures and exotic destinations by leading groups of students on two-week visits to Mexico, based at the Instituto Technologico in Monterey. Foreign students, who came to ECU by scores in the early years from such countries as Panama and Iran, were always welcome at the Professor's home. Later, he established a scholarship for deserving for eign language students attending ECU. After retirement, Dr. and Mrs. Herman were able to increase their travel both throughout the world and around the United States. They toured China, South America, Egypt, Scandinavia and revisited the Panama Canal on a cruise aboard the liner QE2. Within just the past five years, on their own they visited Greece and Turkey, the Czech capital Prague and Dublin, Ireland. During the 1950's, Dr. Herman taught for a semester as a visiting professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson and also taught a semester at San Diego State University. He attended First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Shawnee. He was a life member of the National Audubon Society. Survivors include his wife Charlotte of the Ada home; a daughter, Carla Herman Weber, son-in-law Dr. Ralph Edward Weber and granddaughter Charlotte DeLimon Weber, all of New Orleans; a son, Arthur Chalmers Herman, daughter-in-law Thuyen Deo Nang Herman and granddaughters Johanna and Cynthia Herman, all of London, England. A private family service was held Saturday. The family mausoleum is in New Orleans, and Criswell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Herman was the son of Lawrence Arthur Herman and Neola Mae Chalmers. He did high school studies at New Orleans Academy and received B.A. and M.A. degrees at Tulane University. He was a teaching assistant for a year at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas in 1950 during a six-year teaching stint there.