Elizabeth Herman

Outgoing, artistic, and giving, Elizabeth Herman lived life to the fullest each day. She was opinionated and wanted things her way, yet she was continually looking for ways she could bless others. Elizabeth will be dearly missed but never forgotten.

It was during the dark days of the Great Depression that Elizabeth was born to Juan J. and Flora (Sena) Martinez on March 7, 1938, in Sandoval, New Mexico. She was one of eleven children born to her parents, but five of her siblings were stillborn, and three others died in childhood from childhood diseases. As the only surviving girl in her family, Elizabeth was a bit spoiled by her father. In addition, being the middle child of two brothers, she developed a fiercely independent nature. One story to illustrate this was when she was nine years old; she broke her leg while playing with some friends. She continued riding her bicycle and even performed her first piano recital, because a broken leg in a cast was not going to stop her from doing what she loved. She developed a love for music at a very early age, as her father skillfully played the violin, guitar and piano. Her two brothers played trumpet and trombone, and she played piano, so there was always music in the home everyday. When she was just a young girl her father became a minister. From that point forward the Martinez family moved around a bit while her father planted churches. She was naturally gifted and could play by ear, but she also began taking lessons and quickly started playing in church regularly at the age of nine, joyfully adding her lively and unique style to the piano keys. Elizabeth and her family lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Chicago, and Indiana before settling in West Michigan. She took on a fair amount of the household duties while her parents were busy with church.

When she was 15 years old, her father started a new church in Detroit while continuing to Pastor a church in Grand Rapids. It was that year Elizabeth met Nehemias Arocho, a Marine five years older than her, who was staying at his sister’s house and attended the new church. He liked the way she played the piano. They began long distance dating by correspondence, and when she was 19 the two were married. Elizabeth and Nehemias were later blessed with two children.

Elizabeth’s father died when he was still fairly young, and this had a significant impact on Elizabeth’s life. She became fearful of death, yet at the same time she wanted to live life to its fullest. Elizabeth spent the next 20 years having fun, but they were also plagued with challenges as she answered only to herself. She divorced, married, and divorced again, and she also had two more children during this time in her life.

Having her last child was a bit of a wake-up call for Elizabeth as she realized that she needed to find a new path and live as an example. She returned to a strong faith in the Lord, and it was the Lord who brought the right person into her life, Leslie Herman. They were married, and they spent 27 years together before his death in 2004.

She loved the excitement of making new friends. Because of hurts from her past, it was her habit to put up walls of defense that distanced her as she tried to make friends. It was often times awkward to be on the receiving end of such a friendship. What you say or how you say it was never a realized truth, until much later in life, that words can build or destroy relationships. It took a concerned individual to share with her, these truths. It was an eye opener that began her quest to repair and restore the damage her careless words had created, to repair the broken bridges.

Unfortunately, her disease had begun and cut short her ability to think or speak rationally to repair the damage from her past. She was a loving person, but could only love everyone from a distance, her children included.

Throughout her life Elizabeth was a bustle of activity. She always looked forward to practicing the piano for at least an hour each day from the time she was nine years old until 2008. Elizabeth worked outside of the home at times including in the dietary department at a hospital, as a waitress in a small family restaurant, and as a greeter at a Chinese restaurant. For several years she went out to eat for one meal each day, and she was always looking for decorating ideas while window shopping. Elizabeth had a special place in her heart for pets, and she treasured the companionship of a cat when she was alone.

During her sunset years Elizabeth struggled with dementia and aphasia, but she was blessed to be cared for in her home by her daughter. Her favorite saying before losing the ability to speak was, “See you later alligator…in a while crocodile.” Because of her outgoing nature even with dementia, she made friends easily at the Adult Care center that she attended for a few years, until the late stages of her disease kept her homebound. She was also put on hospice back in January of 2011, but she wasn’t ready to go yet and graduated from hospice care after a year and three months. After another year and a half, she reached the final stage of her disease.

A woman who always dressed for a purpose, Elizabeth Herman never met a stranger. She cherished her faith and deeply loved her family above all else. The memories Elizabeth leaves behind will be lasting treasures in the hearts of her friends and loved ones.

Elizabeth Herman, age 75 of Wyoming, went home to be with the Lord on October 26, 2013. She was preceded in death by her husband, Leslie in 2004. Elizabeth is survived by her children, Migdalia E. (Jeffrey) Davies, Aaron N. (Linda) Arocho, Melissa (Louis) Ross; grandchildren Joshua, Jerod and Isaac Davies, Josiah Arocho, and Valerie Ross.