JoAnne Herman

COLUMBIA - JoAnne Herman, PhD, RN, wife, mother and esteemed Professor Emerita at the College of Nursing at the University of South Carolina passed away at the age of 80 on March 11, 2024. Born in Anderson, Indiana, she was the daughter of the late Robert William Jerram and Louise Martel Wehrs Jerram. With an adventurous spirit and a bold approach to life, JoAnne leaves an impactful legacy that touches family, friends, colleagues, and students.

During her thirty-year career, Dr. Herman was well-known for her academic research, scholarly publications, and outstanding teaching abilities. Beloved by her students and faculty, she was a mentor to many. Dr. Herman advised in the development of the Acute Care Nursing Practitioner Program at the USC College of Nursing. She published extensively in nursing literature and co-authored a book on clinical reasoning skills that continues to be part of the College of Nursing curriculum today. She and her husband funded the Joanne Herman Doctorate of Nursing Practices Endowed Scholarship Fund to assist deserving nurse practitioner students.

Teaching awards included the USC Award: Michael J. Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award, the USC College of Nursing Outstanding Faculty Award, and was selected for the Palmetto Gold Award, which recognizes the top 100 nurses in South Carolina.

She was an avid learner, political junkie, football enthusiast, and international traveler. She struggled with vision loss and eventual blindness but coped with her disability with grace and fearlessness. Despite living with blindness, she continued to participate in community activities. She volunteered as a stress management educator at a local hospital for many years.

Her greatest passion was volunteering with Palmetto Animal Assistance Life Services (PAALS). During her adult life, she had the pleasure of having two seeing-eye guide dogs that greatly assisted her. Her experiences with guide dogs shaped her desire to provide opportunities for disabled individuals to have access to service animals. Her legacy is the Valora scholarship at PAALS, which helps fund service dog placements for those in need.

JoAnne is survived by her loving husband and best friend of 58 years, Wayne; children, Matthew (Janet) and Jennifer; siblings, Jan (John) Becker and Alan (Margret) Jerram; and two grandchildren, Chloe (Andrew) and Hudson.

In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to JoAnne’s PAAL scholarship fund at https://www.paals.org/valorafund

A Celebration of Life Service for JoAnne Herman, 80, will be held at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. A reception will follow the service at the funeral home.