Paul Laurence Herman
- Published: November 13, 2025
Paul Laurence Herman was born Sept. 26, 1951, in New York City. His father, Benjamin S. Herman, was the owner of a dressmaking manufacturing company and an aspiring classical pianist; his mother, Pearl Elizabeth (Wright) Herman, had been a Powers’ model.
Paul’s family moved several times during his childhood, and his fondest memories were from “Frosty Hollow,” an idyllic farmhouse in rural northern New Jersey. Paul was an intellectually gifted child who loved to find quiet outdoor spots to indulge his lifelong love of reading books of all genres. His compassion for animals, particularly stray dogs, was apparent from a young age. Paul never went for a walk without extra treats in his pocket. When Paul was 14, his family moved back to New York City’s upper west side, where Paul attended Stuyvesant High School.
Paul first came to Yellow Springs from New York City in 1971 to visit his sister Linda, an Antioch student and longtime Yellow Springs resident. After overcoming a heroin addiction, Paul traveled to Denmark for four months with Thomas and Joan Northway. There, they worked in a leather shop owned by an Antioch graduate, learning to make belts and shoes, and enjoyed experiencing the aurora borealis.
Upon returning to Yellow Springs, Paul took classes through the Antioch dance department — as a teenager he had studied dance with the American Ballet Theatre in New York — and he performed in several dance pieces at the Antioch Theatre. He was also hired to work the front desk at the Antioch gym, where he became involved with competitive volleyball and progressed to teaching volleyball and racquetball. His dance training contributed greatly to his volleyball skills, including court awareness, speed to position and seemingly effortless setting. He had great skill as a setter, with trademark set misdirection to fool the block, and was quite a good hitter with his ability to torque his hit around the block with a sharp cut.
One of Paul’s early successful competitive volleyball teams, Overlook Yellow Springs, hosted several United States Volleyball Association tournaments at the Antioch gym. Overlook Yellow Springs also played in the USVBA nationals in Schenectady, New York, in 1976, where they won two out of three matches, and Paul had the best stuff-block of his life against his California opponents.
Later in 1976, as Antioch’s deep financial crisis forced mass dismissals of faculty and staff, Paul began bartending and was bestowed with the nickname “Julio” of “Julio’s Bar and Grill.” Paul continued to play volleyball competitively, but struggled with alcohol addiction, hitting rock bottom after losing his mother in 1980, and the loss of his father just six months later in early 1981. On May 18 of 1981, Paul became clean and sober, and remained so for the rest of his life, celebrating a truly impressive 44½ years of sobriety!
Throughout the 1980s, Paul took jobs at Antioch with increasing authority, including working in the security department and the cafeteria, and ultimately becoming the Antioch Bookstore manager — a job he dearly loved.
Paul was proud of his work as a volunteer firefighter with MAPLES, and his continued involvement as a highly skilled volleyball player and teacher. His workshops contributed significantly to the strength of volleyball in the USVBA Ohio Valley Region and turned out many players who excelled in the sport, both at the college level and on regional club teams. As a softball player, Paul’s homerun hitting and agility as an infielder in local softball leagues was legendary; he could hit the ball and touch all the bases. Paul was a positive role model for innumerable young athletes, and his athletic prowess was truly revered.
In the mid-1990s Paul left Yellow Springs and moved to Indianapolis to work for Follett College Bookstores with Indiana University and Purdue University. In Indianapolis, he enjoyed living on the banks of the White River, playing golf and attending car racing and AAA baseball games in his free time. Paul’s love of music, particularly the blues, later enticed him to move to Nashville, Tennessee, working for the Vanderbilt University bookstore. Good friends ultimately drew him to Southeastern Ohio, where he purchased a home on acreage, had a multitude of pets, played lots of golf, and continued his career in bookstore management.
In 2014 Paul retired and followed his decades-long dream of escaping the snow and enjoying the year-round warmth of Tucson, Arizona. Throughout his retirement Paul enjoyed riding his e-bike long distances along the Tucson loop path, playing golf, and attending as many live sporting events as possible. The greatest joy of Paul’s retirement — which even surmounted his die-hard love for watching the New York Yankees — was being a father-figure to his friend Sabian’s daughter, Sophena. Paul and Sophena were inseparable, and could usually be found attending Tucson Roadrunners hockey, University of Arizona baseball, Tucson Sugar Skulls arena football, playing arcade games, browsing used bookstores for great finds, or playing with shelter dogs at the Humane Society or Pima Animal Control Center.
Throughout his life, Paul derived joy from simple things: watching sports, playing sports, listening to music, reading, and staying connected to family and a few close trusted friends. He loved to laugh and make life’s everyday moments unforgettably fun. Paul had a special gift for brightening even the darkest situations, and his friends relied on him to buoy them through their most difficult times.
Paul watched all seven games of the 2025 World Series, despite the absence of his New York Yankees. In the wee hours of Nov. 2, 2025, just after the final game of the series, Paul passed away peacefully at his home in the company of loved ones after a brave battle with pancreatic cancer. He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin S. Herman and Pearl Elizabeth Wright Herman, as well as his sister Leslie Irene Herman. He is survived by his sisters Linda Kelsey-Jones and Laren Louise Lynn; his brother, Benjamin S. Herman Jr.; his son, Ben Viereck; many loving nieces and nephews; and his best pals, Sophena and Sabian Trout.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the animal shelter of your choice or contributions to the purchase of a memorial bench on Paul’s behalf are requested.
A celebration of Paul’s life through shared stories, photos and friendship will be held upstairs at the Bryan Center in Yellow Springs on Saturday Nov. 15, 1:30–4:30pm. Fellowship can continue afterwards at one of the local establishments. Zoom meeting will be available during the gathering, courtesy of Joanne Lakomski. Anyone with photos, videos or stories to share; or who would like to make a memorial donation; or who needs more information can email celebratepaulherman2025@gmail.com.
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