Robert R. Hermann ’44

Bob died April 5, 2020, in St. Louis, Mo., at age 97. He was born in St. Louis and always lived there. 

He attended St. Louis Country Day School, where he was active in track, tennis, soccer, school publications, and dramatics. At Princeton he majored in engineering and was active in rugby and crew. He also was a member of Triangle Club and Charter Club. 

Bob served in the Navy in the South Pacific and rose to the rank of lieutenant on an aircraft carrier. 

After the war, he came back to St. Louis and started the first of eight companies now known as Hermann Companies and its affiliates. As president of the National Professional Soccer League, he helped bring professional soccer to the U.S., and the soccer stadium in St. Louis is named for him.  

Bob served many community organizations, either as a member or as president, including the St. Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Gardens, Barnes-Washington Medical Center, the St. Louis Opera, and the St. Louis Symphony. 

He was chair of the International Center for Tropical Ecology at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and he created the World Ecology Award, which has been presented to world environmentalists such as Jacques Cousteau.  

Bob was predeceased by his wives, Lilly Busch Hermann and Mary Lee Marshall Hermann. He is survived by his two children, Carlota Holton and Robert Hermann ’75; four stepchildren, Robert, Lesley, Mark, and Stephen Scherer; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Daughter Christy Hermann predeceased him.