Yaye Tokuyama Herman was born in Oxnard in 1913. She died in San Francisco on Aug. 2, 2007. In the 94 years between those dates, she did enough to make it clear, as the Spring 2008 California Academy of Sciences newsletter noted, that “enormous things come in small packages.”

Tokuyama Herman served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. Her husband, Col. Robert Herman, whom she met while at the University of Illinois, was a commander in the 28th Composite Group under the Alaskan Air Command. Both eventually became doctors, with Tokuyama Herman specializing in nutritional microbiology.

Recommended Stories

Academy of Sciences’ best-kept secret, The Moss Room

Sykesville plans riverfront shops, offices, condos

Naval Academy appoints first female commandant of midshipmen