Mary Lee Herrman

Mary Lee Herrman, a retired schoolteacher, devoted sailing coach, passionate tennis player, loving wife, mother, grand-mother, sister, and aunt, passed away in Savannah, GA, on Tuesday, November 7th, 2023, at the young age of 80, after a courageous fight with cancer. Mary Lee was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Liming, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth McFerron Liming. She is survived by her amazing, absurdly devoted husband of 57 years, Gary Herrman, two sons, Hunter Herrman, and Garrett Herrman, and 6 grandchildren, Arielle, Riley, Tyler, Katie, Joden and Harris. She was a strong force of nature, her presence felt in any room and will be dearly missed.

Mary Lee graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. She was an active member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority while at OU. Mary Lee enjoyed antiquing, especially traveling through Europe to discover good deals on the ideal pieces for her home. She lived by the moto, ”It isn’t how much it costs, but how much you saved”. It should be noted that, due to her death, she successfully avoided having to make any decisions on the downsizing of her vast collection of treasures.

She was happiest with a can of coke in one hand and a tennis racket in the other. Being on three competitive tennis teams, she enjoyed the competitive game well into her 70s.

She was well known for her limited supply of patience, not holding back her opinion, and a knack for telling it like it is. She always told you the truth as she saw it, sugar coated little, and was quick to offer her unsolicited advice which always came from a place of love. Her words of encouragement and wisdom taught us much and gave us something to pass down to our children and theirs. Everyone always knew where they stood with her, it was always black and white. She was a master cook in the kitchen, but especially if it was one of the six recipes in her rotation and one she herself enjoyed eating.

While once having a strong dislike for driving — often calling the word roadtrip a deceiving word to make driving more pleasant — Mary Lee fell in love with her little stick shift sports car, often pointing out how she loved to take the corners just a little too close.

As a lifelong lover of Coca-Cola, she could always be found with a canned Coke in hand, with several in her purse and warm ones rolling around the back of the car. She even survived the Coke Crisis of 1985 with the tragic introduction of the “New Coke”, a story for another time.

A memorial service will be held 2:00 p.m. Friday, November 17, 2023, at Baker McCullough Funeral Home at 7415 Hodgson Memorial Drive, Savannah, Georgia 31406.