Verlyn Joseph Herman

Herman, Verlyn Joseph, died Monday, September 17, 2012 at age seventy-six, of kidney failure. Rosary 7:00 P.M., Thursday, September 20, 2012. Funeral Mass 10:00 A.M., Friday, September 21, 2012, both at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. My grandfather was a builder and he never missed an opportunity to put in hard work. He started his first job at the age of thirteen, digging post-holes and putting up fence around a farm in New Almelo, Kansas. Two years later he began a sixty-one year career with Sharp Construction LLC, overseeing the construction of countless buildings across the country and quickly gaining ownership of the company. He remained President of Sharp Construction until his death. There was only one commitment more important to Grandpa than his work, and that was to his wife and family. They met in 1953 in Lenora, Kansas, when, as Grandma says, “I saw this handsome young-man at the filling station.” Verlyn married Patricia Tyrrell on May 20th, 1957. My grandparents spent fifty-five years together, raising two daughters, three sons, and spoiling sixteen grandchildren. Above all he was a loving, patient, hard-working man who set an example for all his descendants and gave them the opportunity to make their lives as successful as his own. He died peacefully, surrounded by those who loved him, with a smile on his face. Verlyn served as a member of the Knights of Columbus, American General Contractors of Kansas, the Metal Building Institute, and the Metal Building Contractors Erectors Association. Preceded in death by parents, Joseph A. Herman and Rinildis M. Stramel Herman; brothers, Arlyn and John. Survived by: wife, Patricia; children, Joe (Claire) Herman of Norton, Julie (Alan) Seigman of Wichita, Mary Jane Herman of Chanute, James Herman of Fort Worth, TX, Todd (Leeanna) Herman of Wichita; sister, Jane (Roger) May of Ardmore, OK; brother, Michael J. Herman of Ardmore, OK; 16 grandchildren; and loved by lots of nieces and nephews. Memorials have been established with: Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita, KS 67202; St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 861 N. Socora St., Wichita, KS 67212. Downing Lahey Mortuary West.