Jerome Herman Maner

Jerome H. Maner MACON – Jerome H. Maner, 74, passed away Saturday, December 26, 2009. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Tuesday at Mikado Baptist Church. Burial will be in Glen Haven Memorial Gardens. Rev. Rusty Smith will officiate. Dr. Maner was born in Smyrna, Georgia. His family moved to Bibb County when he was twelve years old and he grew up on a farm in south Bibb County. He graduated from Lanier High School in Macon. He went on to earn Bachelor’s (1956) and Master’s (1958) degrees from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. (1961) from Cornell University. He did post graduate work at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.He married his childhood sweetheart, Rachel Balkcom, who also grew up in south Macon. She passed in 1963. They adopted one son, Kevin, in Bogota, Colombia. He worked overseas for 20 years specializing in promoting improved agricultural production around the world with an emphasis in swine production and nutrition in Latin America. He lived in Colombia from 1961 through 1975 on assignment with the Rockefeller Foundation. Initially, he was part of a team of Foundation scientists that were assigned to work with the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) and later he transferred to CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture) in Cali, Colombia. CIAT was one of seven international centers built around the world by the Rockefeller, Ford, Kellogg and Kresge Foundations to improve agricultural production in developing countries. He worked with renowned international agricultural scientists including Dr. Norman Borlaug, who won the Nobel Prize.In 1975, he was transferred to Salvador, Bahia, Brazil where he became the Director of the Rockefeller Foundation for Brazil. He was assigned to work with the School of Agriculture of the Federal University of Bahia. He also led Foundation projects in medicine, economics and social science. He remained in Brazil until 1981.While in Brazil, he met his current wife, Regina Simas Maner who worked with him on agricultural research projects. They were later married in Macon and they have one daughter, Karen. Later in his career, Dr. Maner worked with International Agricultural Development Services (IADS) in Washington, DC and with Winrock International in Morrilton, Arkansas. He retired in the early 90’s and returned to Macon.Dr. Maner also authored several college text books including “Swine Production in Temperate and Tropical Environments” and “Swine Production and Nutrition” both with Dr. Wilson Pond from Cornell University. Dr. Maner was a member of Mikado Baptist Church where he was very active as a member of the Ambassadors Sunday School class and as the Director of the Mikado School of the Bible. He loved to hunt, fish, garden and cook. He was the son of the late Herman D. and Georgia Gladys Herren Maner and was preceded in death by a brother, James Jerry Maner and a sister, Peggy Maner Molton. Dr. Maner is survived by his wife, Regina Simas Maner of Macon; son, Kevin Maner of Alpharetta; daughter, Karen Maner (Andre) Amarante of Macon. Visit www.snowsmemorialchapel.com to express tributes. Snow’s Memorial Chapel Funeral and Cremation Services, Pio Nono Avenue, has charge of arrangements.