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, was active in rugby, and was a member of Triangle Club and Charter Club.  

Bob served in the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier for two and a half years. After the war he came back to St. Louis and started Standard Container Co., a packaging company. He started seven other companies, which are subsidiaries of his original company. As president of the National Professional Soccer League, he helped bring professional soccer to the United States. 

He served many community organizations, as president or member, including the St. Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Garden, Barnes-Jewish  Hospital, St. Louis Opera, and St. Louis Symphony. 

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

Bob is survived by his wife, Mary Lee; children Robert Hermann Jr. ’75 and Carlota Hermann Holton; and stepchildren Lesley, Mark, Robert, and Stephen Scherer.