Harriet Herd

By Ed Todd
MRT Correspondent

Harriet Herd was a gracious, dedicated, courageous and stalwart Midland community leader who "set a standard for all of us as far as community service and caring," Joan Baskin said of her friend and inspiration.

"She was to me the Renaissance woman," said Baskin, who in the mid-1980s became the first woman to serve as president of the Midland Chamber of Commerce. "She could do anything. She was a great cook and a great leader. She was a gracious hostess. She was a visionary."

Memorial services for Herd, who died Wednesday at age 86 in the Hospice of Midland Inpatient Unit at Midland Memorial Hospital, are to be held at 2 p.m. today in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity in Midland.

"When you start looking back at our (community) history," Baskin said, "you find her hand in so many things. She was president of the Junior League twice" and was organizing chairman of the Family Counseling Service.

Herd, who was active in leadership roles in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity in Midland and in the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Northwest Texas, served in various and diverse roles in the community. Those included her volunteer leadership work for the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale, the Midland County Public Library and Friends of the Library, the Midland-Odessa Symphony Young Artists Competition, the Permian Civic Ballet Association and the Midland Community Theatre. She appeared in three musicals.

Herd, who was physically active as a runner and exerciser, lost a leg to amputation in the 1990s and then "organized a (support) group for amputees to help them cope" with their loss, Baskin said.

Baskin likened this quality of fortitude to Herd as a person who does "not see problems -- only opportunities."

"She made a lot of lemonade out of lemons."

She was an early organizer of Leadership Midland, was "pivotal in the Symphony" and served on the Midland Community Theatre board, Baskin noted.

A recipient of the Exchange Club's Golden Deeds award, Herd, among many of her community achievements, was the organizing chairman of the YMCA's Women's Fitness Center and served on Central YMCA's board of directors.

Herd was wife of Harvey Herd, an oil scout and geologist who transferred to Midland in 1937 and returned to town after serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. Harvey Herd was married to Harriet Daniel in 1940.

"There wasn't anything she couldn't do," Baskin said. And Harriet Herd "passed those good genes all along the line." The couple's children are Tevis Herd, a Midland lawyer and marathon runner; Dan Herd of Austin; and Claire Crumbley of Georgia.

Among her other challenges was effecting the landscaping of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum and Hall of Fame.

"You can barely look at anything worthwhile, and if you look back, you will see her fingerprint on it somewhere where she helped" Baskin said.

"Harriet and Harvey were not only generous with their time and leadership, but with their pocketbook," Baskin said. "They supported all the things that needed supporting."

Herd's community spirit reflected altruism.

"If we could turn the world over to Harriet, we could go to sleep and never worry again," Baskin said. "She was so quiet and efficient and gracious about it (her leadership and volunteerism) and É was a terrific leader."

In Herd was beauty.

"She is so beautiful," Baskin said. "This is for me: 'Never take your picture with Harriet (Herd) and Paula Cahoon because they are so gorgeous. You would look like the poor cousin who fell off the turnip truck."

Jack Swallow, who is president of the Permian Basin Area Foundation on which Herd was a founding governor, cited her courage and fortitude.

"After her surgery (for the amputation), she served really as a source of inspiration for other amputees," Swallow said.

"Mrs. Herd lived a life of courage. She realized that these were the cards that she had been dealt, and there wasn't any sense in changing the way she went about life. She attacked life with the same sense of zeal and giving back to the community that she had before she ever had her surgery," Swallow said.

The Harriet D. Herd Memorial Fund has been set up at the Permian Basin Area Foundation, 550 W. Texas St., Suite 1260, Midland, Texas 79701, Swallow said.

Judge John Hyde, who presides over the 238th Texas District Court for Midland County, referred to Herd's many community endeavors "that bespeak the dignity and the sense of devotion to the community that Mrs. Herd and her family have shown."

Her death is a "great loss to this community and certainly to her family," Hyde said. "She was a very gracious lady and a very charming person to be around. When you talked with her, she made people feel at ease about themselves."

Nancy McKinley, a Midland and West Texas historian and, like Herd, a member of the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR), said Herd was "a fine community-spirited citizen" who was always willing to give and to help others."

Mary Lou Cassidy, a Midland lawyer and community actress, recalled that Herd had studied dance, supported ballet and the theater, was an "avid exerciser" before the amputation, and was "very active" in the church. She was an exacting parliamentarian.

"She was a classic lady," said Cassidy.

Valerie Pickett, who also is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, said Herd was "very devoted to the church."

"She was the kind of friend that made living in Midland a better place," Pickett said.

Betty Gilmore, a member of St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church and who, like Herd, served as president of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Northwest Texas, said Herd was "one of the first and most active women in the Diocese of Northwest Texas."

"She sort of set the standard not just for women's work in the church but for community and church work of any kind," Gilmore said. "She was a mentor to me in work in the church."

Ibby Hardie, whose friendship with Herd goes back more than 60 years, said she is "so grateful for the friend I've had in Harriet. Harvey and Harriet have been the longest-time best friend that my family has ever had."

"She as a great lady, and for 60 years, we can't remember a time without her."

"Harriet was an influence for excellence," Hardie said, "and she deeply affected the lives of many people in all walks of life. She was and is my leader and my hero. She was a fine Christian woman, and she lived her life under all of the Christian principles."