Thomas Herrington

Thomas Edward Herrington was born in Bastrop County on September 25, 1931 to Thomas J. and Irene Bollier Herrington. He was educated in Smithville schools and graduated as Salutatorian of the Smithville High School class of 1951. He attended Rice University for two years, before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin where he received a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1956. On the same day, he married Polly Ann Morris in Belton.\r\n\r\nTom worked in commercial airliner Research and Development at Pan American Airlines in Miami, Florida, and military airplane R&D at Convair in Ft. Worth before joining the space race with Brown Engineering at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. In 1965, Tom and Polly moved to Houston where he worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. At NASA he worked in the Gemini Program Office, then the Apollo Program Office where he was assigned to the group who designed and developed the experiment package left on the moon. He resigned in 1981 to pursue other interests in the Houston area. \r\n\r\nIn 1992 Tom and Polly moved to Bandera, where he raised gamebirds for hunting and ranch restocking. In 1995, along with his son John, he limited production to quail for meat as well as hunting and restocking. Tom built the first USDA approved gamebird processing plant in Texas and supplied quail to fine restaurants all over the country - including the White House. He was a founding member of the Texas Gamebird Association, and held the offices of President and Treasurer.\r\n\r\nThe family also owned and operated the Diamond H Bed and Breakfast in Bandera from 1992-2010. Due to failing health, both businesses were sold and Tom and Polly relocated to the Bryan area to be near family.\r\n\r\nTom is preceded in death by his parents and his son John David Herrington. Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Polly; daughter Linda Jeffress and husband Chuck of Kurten and their children Jennifer of Dallas and Drew of College Station; son Jim and his wife Kathy of Fredericksburg; son Mark, his wife Anita and their children Angelica and Blake, all of San Antonio; grandchildren Garrett of Memphis, Tennessee and Morgan Hargrove of Chicago, Illinois, and their mother Tamara Turner of Ft. Worth; great-grandchildren Kaden and Cohen of Chicago; and his brother David Herrington of Smithville and his children Michael and Lisa.\r\n\r\nThomas Edward Herrington died on March 11, 2019 at the Hospice Brazos Valley Inpatient Facility in Bryan. Visitation will be at Callaway-Jones Funeral Home in Bryan from 6 -8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, with burial to follow in Bandera at a later date.\r\n\r\nThe family will be forever grateful to Dr. Richard Smith for his kindness and caring support over the years and to all the incredible staff of Hospice Brazos Valley, especially Kitti, who was with us at the end and sang a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace." In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Kurten Volunteer Fire Department or Hospice Brazos Valley in memory of this good man, a Texas Longhorn with a soft spot for the Aggies.\r\n\r\nThe Family will receive friends at Grimes Funeral Chapels from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Saturday, May 18, 2019 followed by a Celebration of Life at 11:00 AM. Inurnment will take place at Bandera Cemetery. \r\n