Herman Lay (1909-1982) was born to Jesse N. and Bertha Lay on 6/3/1909, in Charlotte, NC. The family lived at 814 E. 3rd St. Jesse worked as a bookkeeper for International Harvester Co., which was located at 301 E. Trade St.

By 4/16/1910, the family moved to Elmwood St. in Columbia, SC, where Herman's father worked as a commercial salesman for International Harvester. By 1920, his father was selling hardware, and the family had moved to Greenville, SC. After Herman's mother, Bertha, died from cancer in 1922, his father remarried a public school teacher named Ollie, about 20 years his junior.

Herman Lay attended Furman University in Greenville, but he did not graduate. He entered the business world and founded the H. W. Lay Co., Inc., which merged in 1961 to form Frito-Lay. This company is now one of the largest snack food manufacturers of its kind in the U.S. He married Sarah Amelia Mimi Hodges and had four children.