Herman Alfred Naehter

Herm was a man of passion. He was passionate about history, about books, about music, about paintings and especially about politics. We spent long hours discussing the books he had just finished and he would quote chapter and verse many of them by heart. Sometimes we could spend hours discussing the latest twists and turns in current events, especially the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He liked to write poetry and listen to Les Misérables, Brahms and Beethoven. Often, he would loose track of time while listening, much to the chagrin of the immediate neighbors who were trying to sleep. He wasn’t being disrespectful or hurtful, just living in a world of his own., on his own terms and with his own priorities.

At his core, he was a kind, gentle man who felt a fatherly, protective instinct towards his fellow service men, which led him to be passionate about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a veteran of the Viet Nam War, Herm was concerned that no one should have to relive the trauma and experiences that he has to as a young man. Herm was passionate about replacing the people in Washington who could so casually dismiss the importance of the Constitution or so offhandedly send someone to war or trivialize the consequences of war. He was adamant that “those people” needed to be placed-in-check. I think it was one of the happiest days in his life when Obama was elected.

When Herm’s health had deteriorated, I think he grew in ways that he never expected. He truly felt he had become part of a neighborhood family. In many ways, he was embarrassed that he needed anyone and like many veterans, he should be able to “tough it out” and “go it alone”. As a soldier, he had developed an almost impenetrable outer shell to protect him from his sensitive, vulnerable side.

Herm’s middle name was Noel because he was born on Christmas day. I think this was his favorite holiday. He loved to decorate for the holiday and would either be here at home on Jackrabbit Road and his mother would visit him, or he would travel to Seattle to be with his mother. Herm was proud of his mother and how she was still working many years after she could have comfortably retired. He talked about how she had such purpose to her life.

Herm was always a University of Washington Husky at heart. He loved to banter with the neighbors about football and basketball games and how “his Huskies” were the best. When he learned that my daughter was going to UW, he was very pleased and excited. As a Husky, he ultimately met one of the loves of his lives, his dog Jackie Blue Eyes. Together, they met many of the trials and tribulations of being alone and getting older. When he went off to the VA Hospital, one of his primary concerns was for Jackie.