Godfried Herrmann

If he sat still and stopped talking long enough, he could have written quite a memoir, even for his short 46 years. Godfried was born in Phoenix, AZ and even as a tot was hard to keep up with. He grew up exploring the desert, visiting family in Bandon, OR, and later spent a year travelling through Europe and another year following the Grateful Dead tour. A lover of live music and the outdoors, he landed in Seattle in the 90’s where he could load up his Lotus dog in the 4Runner for a morning snowboard session on Snoqualmie and make it back to swap out gear for a night dive in the Puget Sound. His work in the restaurant industry there, most notably the Kirkland Roaster, allowed him to meet new people who were never strangers to him for long.

With the dotcom bubble burst came the end of his time in Seattle and he subsequently spent time in Texas pursuing his divemaster and teaching new scuba divers the hogarthian way. Not to be waylaid from grand plans for too long, he moved briefly back to Phoenix before landing a job bartending at a new bar in downtown Denver, CO. It was through this job at Maloney’s that he met his wife Elizabeth.

Godfried and Liz had a few adventures, planned many more, and welcomed Veronica, their daughter, in 2014. Declaring her the best thing to ever happen for him, Godfried spent the rest of his life sharing in adventures with Veronica. Her first word, “wow”, Godfried’s common exclamation when showing her something new and wonderful, was most certainly due to the sense of wonder with which he viewed the world. Always a source of calm and comfort as well as gumption, confidence, and bravery, Godfried saw Veronica learn to swim, ride her bike, catch great air on sledding hills and promised to teach her to skateboard, snowboard and scuba dive very soon.

Godfried’s ready smile, quick humor, and warm heart earned him many friends throughout his life, and the man had a story to relate to everyone. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him, but particularly to those closest to him that he left behind. His mother Bonnie Hart, father Ludwig Herrmann and step-mother Yvonne, brothers Robert Herrmann (Shannen), Michael VanOmmeren (Jennifer), and mother-in-law Mary Eichelberger. He is preceded in death by his step-father John Hart and father-in-law David Eichelberger.

Memorial service details to follow. Please share a favorite memory or photo of Godfried to help keep his beacon shining.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Godfried’s name to The Blue Bench: https://thebluebench.org/take-action/support-the-cause/donate.html