Ann Jackson Herman

Ann Jackson Herman passed away on Friday, January 8, 2021, due to complications associated with the COVID-19 virus. A resident of Atlanta, she died peacefully while receiving palliative care at the Bolingreen Health and Rehabilitation Center in Macon, GA, located near the residence of her son Thomas.

Ann was born in Atlanta on March 30, 1931, to Zachariah Wiley Jackson, MD, an Ophthalmologist, and Virginia Louise (Ewing) Jackson, a homemaker. She attended Druid Hills Elementary and Druid Hills High School. At the age of six, she began to form lifelong friendships with five classmates, a group fondly referred to as the “First Grade Friends.” During adulthood, they consistently met on a monthly basis well into their seventies.

After high school, she attended the University of Georgia where she graduated having been made a member of the Mortar Board national honor society. While there, she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and continued to support the organization after graduation.

She married her husband, Raymond (Ray) Otto Herman, a native of Bridgeport, CT, on July 9, 1954. They met via the fiancé of one of the First Grade Friends. At the time, Ray was stationed at Fort McPherson while serving a tour of duty in the U.S. Army Audit Agency.

Their wedding was officiated by the Rev. Vernon S. Broyles, Jr. , former Senior Pastor at North Avenue Presbyterian Church and longtime Chairman of the Westminster Schools. One month later, they moved to Cambridge, MA, where Ray earned an MBA at the Harvard Business School in 1956. While there, Ann taught for two years at a local elementary school. They returned to Atlanta - at her insistence - after graduation because she hated the cold New England winter weather.

They both went on to become active members in the life of North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Shortly after returning, she and more than a dozen other female members formed what came to be known as “The Bridge Club.” These women became a second group of close friends that met monthly to share a meal (and sometimes to play bridge) for several decades.

As a full-time homemaker, Ann raised two sons, Raymond (Ray) Jackson Herman, a resident of Baltimore, MD, and Thomas Wiley Herman, a resident of Macon, and took a lead role in her neighborhood developing yet another group of women that evolved into a close circle of friends.

After becoming “empty nesters,” Ann and Ray spent a considerable amount of time traveling throughout the world. This was evidenced by the dozens of refrigerator magnets and souvenirs from various countries and cities which they visited. She especially enjoyed going to the UK and visiting the estate and public gardens in England. After Ray passed away in 1993, she continued taking trips with one or more of her many friends.

Her most recent years of independent living were shortened by an advanced case of Macular Degeneration. It reduced her ability to read the newspaper and play bridge (two favorite pastimes) and eventually eliminated her ability to drive. Consequently, she became a resident at Kings Bridge Senior Living. While there, she developed several new friends in addition to devoting a great deal of time to maintaining contact with her wide circle of friends by phone.

In addition to her two sons, she is survived by her sister, Mary Elizabeth Etheridge of Atlanta, her daughter-in-law, Shay Herman (wife of Ray), her four grandchildren (Leslie, Ross, Morgan and Caroline) and one great-grandson (Jackson Lewis Smith, son of Leslie and her husband, Joshua Smith).

A Memorial Service will be held at North Avenue Presbyterian Church on Sunday, January 24, 2021, at 2:00pm. To watch the service online, please use this web address: ( www.napc.org/live ).

The family requests that donations in her memory be made to North Avenue Presbyterian Church or the Macular Degeneration Association (www.macularhope.org).

Visit www.snowsmacon.com to express tributes.

Snow’s Memorial Chapel, Cherry Street, has charge of arrangements.