On the evening of May 16, 2016, Herman Leon Pickens passed away peacefully at Huntsville Hospital with his beloved family by his side. He was 83 years old. Herman was born on February 22,1933, in Jackson, TN.

Herman was preceded in death by his parents, Herman Lee and Nellie Pickens, eldest sister Ruth, sister Shirley Livingston, and adopted son, Randy Lee.

He is survived by his loving and faithful wife Christine "Chris" Pickens of 31 years, younger brother Joe (Paula), Jackson, TN, and six children: Randy (Teresa), Allons, TN, Sharon (Steve) Spencer, Jackson, TN, Barry (Connie) Pickens, Corpus Christi, TX, Jeanne Shrader and Juli (Stiles) Clark, Huntsville, AL, and Timothy (Janet) Pickens, Madison, AL. He is also survived by 22 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

Herman attended Pope Elementary School and North Side High School in Jackson. He joined the Navy in 1950 at age 17 and served for four years, primarily in the Philippines. He graduated from UAH in 1973, with a Physics degree.

Herman was not shy about his faith in Jesus Christ and his love for God. He was a student of the Bible and loved the hymns of the faith. Everyone in his family knew he cared for them. He lived an obscure life as an engineer and inventor in the hills east of Huntsville. When he was not designing, he was relaxing, blazing a new mountain trail on his dozer!

Chris, his wife and business partner, teamed together on all family and technical matters. He excelled in every technical project he pursued. His contributions spanned from toy designs, to FBI Specialized Telecommunication products, to electronic devices used to ignite rocket engines for NASA MSFC. His 30-year-old company, Orion Development, delivered its latest NASA product in the last month. Herman loved solving technical challenges and developing new products and inventions. He recently added new patents to his trove of unspoken accomplishments. He was a humble man who was relentlessly in discover mode until his passing.

A visitation will be held for family and friends at Berryhill Funeral Home on Thursday, May 19, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
A graveside funeral service, officiated by eldest son Randy Pickens, will be held Friday, May 20, at 11:00 a.m., at the Ragsdale Cemetery in Sharp's Cove, Gurley, AL.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that in-memory donations be made to www.Gideons.org, (615) 564-5000, to help spread the Gospel through Herman's most beloved book, The Holy Bible.