Ginny Herrmann

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Virginia (Ginny) Herrmann, beloved sister, aunt, and friend, on October 16th, 2023 following a nearly two-year battle with cancer. She died peacefully in her home surrounded by her “angel” friends and family.

Ginny was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Paul and Lois Herrmann. She went to St. Louis University for college and medical school, graduating top of her class, and completed a fellowship at Harvard University in surgical nutrition. She returned to St. Louis University as faculty in the School of Medicine and went on to become a professor of surgery at Washington University.

Ginny was a pioneer in the medical field starting her career as a breast surgeon during a time when there were very few women surgeons. It was always important to her to empower other women, and through her support and mentorship, she paved a path for other women surgeons to pursue their individual career trajectories and championed their successes. Her impact forever changed the climate of surgery in St. Louis and countless lives benefitted from her work. She cherished everyone she worked with, including patients and their families, physicians, nurses, and hospital staff.

Ginny lived her life in service of others. She proudly served on the board of the St. Louis Zoo and as President of both the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and the St. Louis Surgical Society. Perhaps the truest testaments to her character were the ways in which she served others every day by always taking advantage of an opportunity to show kindness to others. Coming out of mass in the middle of winter, she quite literally gave the coat off her back to someone that needed it more, and accidentally included her car keys too! She always carried extra umbrellas in her car so she could pass them out to those standing out in the rain. Her time volunteering with St. Ambrose was one of her biggest blessings, and she frequently talked about the fulfillment and joy it brought her to give back the community she loved so much. Even in the throes of her illness, she continued to work relentlessly for cancer patients and would never miss volunteering at St. Ambrose.

Ginny devoted her time to the people in her life, but her friends know her as a devoted animal lover and dedicated her love to her very lucky dogs she rescued throughout her life who all knew her as “mommy.”

She is survived by her brother Paul (Stacy) Herrmann, her sister Nancy (Jim) Daly, and their children Dustin Herrmann, Samantha Herrmann, Timothy Daly and Kevin Daly, and her dog Tina.

Ginny was a friend to so many.

Services: Visitation will be held Friday, October 20th from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm at Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary at Chippewa and Watson and on Saturday, October 21st from 8:30 am – 9:00 am at St. Ambrose Catholic Church on the Hill. Her funeral will be held on Saturday, October 21st at 9:00 am at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. There will be a private family interment at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to St. Ambrose Society for the homeless, online at https://www.stambroseonthehill.com/ministries or by mail at: St. Ambrose, 5130 Wilson Ave.; St. Louis, MO 63110 (in the memo of the check make a notation-"St. Ambrose Society" or to

Cardinal Glennon Palliative Care Fund (Footprints) online at https://www.glennon.org/how-to-help/ or by mail at: Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation, 3800 Park Ave.; St. Louis, MO 63110 (in the memo of the check make a notation- "Palliative care, Footprints"

Please leave a favorite memory of Ginny for her family and dear friends to cherish at the "Add a Memory" link below.