Richard Lee Hermann

Dick will be celebrated and remembered in both Canandaigua and Arlington. The Canandaigua arrangements will take place Saturday, September 13, at Fuller Funeral Home, Inc. 190 Buffalo St. with calling hours from 1-3 PM, the memorial service at 3 PM and reception to follow (Location to be announced).

Arrangements in Arlington will take place on Saturday October 4, 2025 at Murphy Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203. Calling hours are from 11 AM-12 PM; Service at 12 PM; Reception to follow. Inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery is anticipated in several months.

Dick was born in New York City on June 10, 1946 to Ernest Hermann and Margarete (Sobel) Hermann. He grew up in Canandaigua from the age of 2, graduated from Canandaigua Academy in 1964, and was named a Graduate of Distinction in 2023. After high school, he went on to graduate from Yale in 1968. Like many of his classmates, he received his draft notice on his college graduation day. He served his country in the U.S. Army until 1970, including as a member of the U.S. Army Atomic Demolition Munitions Team in Germany. After his military service, Dick earned a Master's in Political Science from The New School in 1971, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1974.

Dick married his Canandaigua Academy classmate Anne Marie Canali in 1971. They moved to Ithaca, NY while Dick was in law school, and then, following a brief stint in Buffalo, NY, to Arlington, VA in 1975, where they have since resided (other than spending most summers in Canandaigua for the last 15 years). He served his country for a second time from 1975-1978 as a JAG (Judge Advocate General) for the U.S. Army, and later consulted for the Pentagon.

In the late 1970's, Dick developed the idea for a monthly newsletter listing attorney and other law-related jobs with the federal government, eventually turning it into a business and subsequently expanding operations into legal career counseling. After Dick & his partner sold the company in 2007, he was finally able to focus on writing beyond the scope of legal career books. He authored 15 books; his favorite being Mother's Century: A Survivor, Her People and Her Times, a "bio-history" of his mother Margarete Sobel Hermann. In addition, he spent nearly a decade as a law professor and was also the author of the RANT, which started as an op-ed in the Canandaigua Daily Messenger and evolved into a weekly email column with many devoted followers.

Dick was known for his love of history, his voracious appetite for books (he was always reading multiple books simultaneously, and could remember every detail after he'd read it once), his strong convictions and political beliefs, his mischievous sense of humor and the deep personal interest he took in the lives, dreams, beliefs and pursuits of most everyone he encountered. He was not only a father, grandfather and uncle, but also a father figure and close friend to many, offering sage advice and often quickly becoming a trusted advisor.

Dick is survived by his wife Anne Marie Canali Hermann, son David Hermann, daughter Elizabeth Hermann Smith (West Smith), grandson Julian Hermann, sisters-in-law Peggy Bolstetter (John), Cora Canali and Connie Canali, several nieces, nephews, aunts, an uncle, cousins, and other loved ones; all of whom include – in his own words – "family who became friends and friends who became family".

He is preceded in death by his parents Ernest Hermann and Margarete Sobel Hermann, his brother-in-law Anthony Canali and his first cousin Jim Friend, who was like a brother.

For memorial donations, please consider the following: the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (https://themmrf.org/), the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (https://www.ushmm.org/) and One Tail at a Time (www.onetail.org).

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the staff at Thompson Hospital and their friends and family for their support.