Herman Francis Jasper

Born August 28, 1938, in Cawker City, Kansas, to Leo and Cecilia Jasper, the fourth of eight children, Herman was a Kansas farm boy. He graduated from Cawker City High School in 1956 and Kansas State University in 1960. Following graduation, he worked for Deere & Co until his retirement in 1992. In 1963, he married his beloved wife of 54 years, Cleta. During their life together, Herman’s job took them to Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois. Following his retirement after 31 years of work, they settled in Colorado Springs in 1992.

Herman’s life is best described by the word faithfulness: to his wife, to his family, to his God, and to his community. He was a good provider for his wife and four children, yet his career did not get in the way of his devotion to his family. Throughout his life, he happily appeared whenever his children needed his strong back and handyman skills. This doting grandfather delighted in cheering at sporting matches and applauding plays, musical performances, and dance recitals. As devout Catholics, Herman and Cleta joined St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, where they attended daily Mass, served as Eucharistic Ministers, and Herman served on the parish finance council. He became a Knight of Columbus and, during his 25 years with the St. Patrick Knights of Columbus, held all key leadership positions, including serving as Grand Knight three different times. Outside of church, he volunteered with Pikes Peak Hospice for 18 years and was a member of the Colorado Springs Nob Hill Lions Club for twenty years, holding various offices, receiving several major service awards, and operating the Christmas tree lot for over ten years.

While Herman filled his retirement with volunteer activities, he somehow also found time to enjoy camping and the great outdoors. He enjoyed cooking outside and expanded his cooking to the kitchen where he also, to the family’s relief, expanded his repertoire of spices far beyond his early experiments with bay leaf. He also loved trying new restaurants, and he was always ready to try a new cuisine with a brave companion. He loved living in his adopted home and came to know Colorado from top-to-bottom and end-to-end. And absolutely no one enjoyed a good joke more than Herman. With his impish sense of humor, few were safe from his pranks. In fact, he himself was his favorite target.

Herman’s passing leaves a great hole in the heart of many people. There is no doubt he already has found a volunteer position in Our Father’s Heavenly Bureaucracy, and, here on earth, his children and grandchildren have large shoes to fill.

Herman is survived by his wife, his four children and six grandchildren, three sisters, two brothers, and a large extended family. He is preceded in death by his parents and two sisters.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, February 23, at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. A visitation will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 22 at the church, with a rosary at approximately 6:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation and the American Cancer Society.