Life Tribute – Herman John Amann
Herman John Amann
Herman John Amann passed away peacefully at home of congestive heart failure May 27, at age 76, with family by his side.
He was born July 6, 1943 in Marion, Ohio to Mildred Irene Collins and Herman Paul Amann. Upon the death of his father in 1956, his mother moved John and his siblings to Fresno, California to begin life anew.
In 1962 he married Karen Lynn Pinnecker in Fresno. To this union were born two daughters, Deborah and Robyn. The couple divorced in 1967.
John served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served with the Americal Division, Company D, 5th Battalion, 46th Infantry Division, 198th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam, and was awarded his first Bronze Star with “V” (valor) in July 1969, his second Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster in Oct. 1969 along with the Army Commendation Medal. He was also awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Overseas Service Bar, and the Army Sharpshooter Marksmanship Badge with M-14 qualification.
After his military service, John went back to work at Patton State Hospital, then transferred to Atascadero State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He used his GI Bill to graduate from Questa College with a psychiatric technician degree. He later transferred to the California Mens’ Colony at San Luis Obispo as a correctional officer, then to San Quentin as a sergeant, then to the California Correctional Center in Susanville as a CPS II, where he worked until his retirement in 1995 as a captain. It was in Susanville that he met and married his wife, Dale, and where they raised their children.
After his retirement in 1995, the family settled in Redding, California where he and Dale spent the rest of their lives together.
John is survived by his wife of 43 years, Dale; daughter Maeve and son-in-law Allen Long and grandson Wyatt, of Honolulu, Hawaii; granddaughter Cheyenne Long, of Battleground, Washington; daughter Dr. Colleen Amann-Shah and son-in-law Munir Shah, of Portland, Oregon; daughter Caroline Amann and wife, Sally Kirk of Portland; daughter Deborah and son-in-law Tim Wells; and grandchildren, Tim, Tyler and Reece of Clovis, California; granddaughter Ashley Wells (Michael) Gerald, of Iowa City, Iowa; daughter Robyn Stinson and grandson Cooper, of Fresno; Dale’s son from her first marriage, Sean Schwelm, of Creswell, Oregon; sister Mary Gretchen Amann, of Lake Oswego, Oregon; brother Thomas C. Amann, of Pioneer, California; father-in-law Russell Brown of Nampa, Idaho; sister-in-law Gretchen (Ron) Hayhurst, of Wilsonville, Oregon; brother-in-law Scott (Deborah) Brown, of Sonora, California; nephew Taylor Brown, of Austin, Texas; niece Danielle (Clayton) Stephens, of Haughton, Louisiana niece Kathryn (Christopher) Yorks and son, Cameron, of Seattle, Washington; and numerous cousins in Ohio.
Burial will be held at the Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon Thursday, June 4. Military services will be held at a future date due to Covid-19.
