Jimmy "Slim" Herman

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Jimmy "Slim" Herman passed away on July 4, 2024. Born and raised in Abilene, Texas, to Dr. Jack and Ann Herman on July 14, 1944, Slim spent his early years divided between adventures on the north side of Abilene with his best friends and visits to New York City where his grandmother ran a retail clothing store. He was the beloved older brother of Mary Anna Herman and the proud grandson of Dr. Jim Pickard, who delivered the first child at Hendrick Medical Center and introduced the first x-ray machine to Abilene. Dr. Pickard also instilled in Slim a lifelong passion for hunting and fishing and gave him his signature nickname due to his tall, thin stature during his high school years.

Slim enlisted in the US Army in 1965 as a Private, and rose through the ranks to retire as a Lieutenant Colonel. He served as an infantry platoon leader with the 3rd Armored Division in Germany and later volunteered for Vietnam. From 1970 - 1971, he served a combat tour as an infantryman with the 5th Infantry Division in the northern sector of I Corps. He was assigned to the 1/61 Mechanized Infantry Battalion as S3 air and later as a company commander of the 1/61 reconnaissance company operating out of Fire Base Charlie. After returning from Vietnam, he served in various units throughout the US before retiring in Abilene, Texas. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, Vietnam Service Medal, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 device. His military schooling included Basic and Advanced Individual Training, Infantry Officers Basic and Advanced Course, and Command and General Staff College Course. His badges and patches included the Combat Infantryman Badge, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Jungle Expert Patch.

In the summer of 1972, Slim met Gretchen Walker, who would become his wife for 49 years. Shortly after their marriage, he returned to school and graduated from Hardin Simmons University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work. Slim continued his education by earning his associates degree in nursing from Angelo State University in 1979.

Despite his extensive education, Slim humorously continued to search for the ever-elusive mathematical "X."

After graduating from Angelo State, Slim worked as a registered nurse for the State School in Abilene before joining Hendrick Medical Center as their lead trauma nurse in the Emergency Center. In 1984, he opened Abilene Home Health Professional Care with his wife, Gretchen. Together, they would serve the "Big Country'' for 36 years. Slim was renowned for his unmatched storytelling abilities, which brought smiles to his patients' faces and provided relief to whatever ailed them. He furthered his education at MD Anderson in Houston with a specialty in WOCN ET nursing and eventually retired in 2020.

In his well-deserved retirement, Slim spent most of his time at Possum Trot Ranch. It wasn't just a ranch but a place where he found purpose and contentment. Slim found peace in the simplicity of life on the land, where the passage of time was marked not by clocks or calendars but by the changing of seasons and the cycles of nature.

Slim will be forever remembered by his wife, Gretchen; two daughters, Jeffy Bartholomae and Aron Bryan, Wesley Bryan; two sons, Josh (Bren) Herman and unborn child, Jacob (Lauren) Herman; two granddaughters Sydney Bartholomae and Charlotte Bartholomae, four grandsons, Hudson Bryan, Kasey Bartholomae, Zak Bryan and Austin Bryan; niece, Adriane (Marvin) Fergus.

May he rest in peace, and may his legacy and humor live on through his family and the many lives he touched.

A private inurnment will be held at the Church of the Heavenly Rest Columbarium with full military honors.

Memorials may be made in honor of Jimmy "Slim" Herman to Rescue the Animals, 4620 North 1st Street, Abilene, Texas 79603.