Iris Ruth Herbst

1937 - 2025

A Celebration of Iris Ruth Herbst's Life, age 88, of Jasper, Texas will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, October 6, 2025 at the United Methodist Church in the Pines in Jasper, Texas with burial to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery in Jasper, Texas. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at the Church.

Iris Ruth Pool Herbst, 88, of Jasper, died Thursday, September 25, 2025. Iris was born August 14th, 1937 in Polk County, Texas to Lillie Ruth Rainey Pool and Charles Cade Pool.

Iris grew up in Jasper, and after graduating from Jasper High School, spent 3 years at SMU before marrying the love of her life, Thomas Wesley Herbst in 1957. The young couple lived in Houston where Tom worked for the Ethyl Corporation. Iris honored the promise to her father to complete her education and finished her BA degree at the University of Houston. Soon afterward, Iris and Tom returned to Jasper. Tom began working at the First State Bank as the couple started their family. Daughter Kim was born in 1960 followed by Cade in 1963. They lived near close friends, Barbara and John Seale, Carolyn and Jimmy Perkins, Sarah Ann and Herman Hancock and Suzanne and Joe Bob Golden, in an area of Jasper Suzanne nicknamed "Fertile Valley" because the friends were all having children at the same time.

With two children, Iris and Tom had to move and built a house on Crestwood Drive. Iris relished being a mother and she was a consummate entertainer. The kitchen in the new house was only about 8 square feet with a single small oven, but that didn't slow Iris down. She was still able to whip up a gourmet dinner for 8 to 10 people.

In the late 70s, Iris and Tom built a true party house on Willow Drive. Iris was thrilled to be able to entertain her friends in the larger home. She had numerous cocktail and dinner parties there. She would sometimes make her guests nervous because she would sit in the living room with them enjoying a cocktail instead of working in the kitchen. She was a master at doing early prep work and timing her dinners so that she could relax and enjoy her guests. The dinners were ready exactly on time. The one thing Iris was not good with in the kitchen was baking. She once made a pecan pie for Tom that was clear instead of brown. She finally learned the problem was that she used light Karo corn Syrup instead of dark. The cakes she attempted would typically collapse when she took them out of the oven. Kim and Cade began asking her to donate money to their school bake sale fundraisers rather than bake cakes that didn't sell. Everything else she made was excellent though. She was known far and wide for her pimento cheese sandwiches. She was always delivering them to friends who weren't feeling well, who had a death in the family, or just because she thought someone needed to be cheered up. Everyone wanted her recipe. She wouldn't share it, but if anyone wanted pimento cheese, she would make a batch and bring it over.

Iris's other passion was her yard, and she had the ability to grow almost any plant. She transplanted massive azaleas and camellias from her mother's yard and nurtured them until they thrived. When Hurricane Rita destroyed the woods behind her house in 2005, Iris poured thousands of pounds of fertilizer and water into the vacant area and regrew her woods!

Iris also enjoyed games. She was an avid bridge player and learned to play Mah Jongg decades before it became THE game. She played tennis during the 70s but then transitioned to golf so she could play with Tom. They took many a trip to golf courses around the country.

Iris was very supportive of her children and gave them opportunities to learn and grow. She allowed both Kim and Cade to travel to Europe years before she had a chance to go. When Kim went to SMU and announced she was planning to major in Art History, Iris thought that sounded wonderful even through her friends thought it was a ridiculous degree. Later, when Kim wanted to return to school for an MBA, Iris was all in despite Tom's hesitation. She assured Tom that Kim would be just fine even though she had not taken any business classes as an undergrad. She was right!

When both kids were in college Iris and Tom began their travelling years. They loved cruises and took a total of 17. Iris couldn't recall much about the places they went, but she could recount every good meal she ate and every person she met. Cade always laughed that she wasn't very observant about details. Iris must have been thinking about those cruises during her final days. One day she announced to her caregiver Geneva that the two of them were on a cruise together at that very minute and she wanted to know if Geneva was enjoying it!

Iris was a long-time member of the United Methodist Church and was proud to be a founding member of the United Methodist Church of the Pines in Jasper.

Iris was always one to "tell it like it is," which sometimes came across as overly blunt, but she cared deeply for her family, friends and all the people she interacted with. She was very generous and willing to help anyone in need.

Iris loved her friends dearly. As her health declined in recent years, she missed her time with them. She had always looked forward to Wednesday coffee with Pat and Sammy and lunches or coffee with Sherry or lunches with Martha, Bonnie and Marilyn at The Stump.

We will all miss Iris, but it is comforting to think she is in heaven and back together with Tom. Tom likely arranged to have a Frank Sinatra song playing when she arrived so he could grab her hand and waltz with her.

Iris leaves behind daughter Kim Steinhagen and husband Roy of Beaumont, granddaughers Anna and Emily Steinhagen of Dallas and New Orleans; her brother John Pool and wife Janet of Conroe; niece Kendall Ernst and husband Carter of Conroe and nephew Charles Christopher Pool of Conroe. Other nephews include Ray and John Herbst (and wife Suzanne) of Austin, Randy Herbst of Jasper and Rusty Herbst of Hudson. Iris is preceded in death by husband Tom and son Cade, along with her parents Lillie Ruth and Charley Pool. She had numerous conversations with all of them before she passed and was looking forward to being reunited with them.

The family wishes to thank Geneva Birdlong for her many years taking care of both Tom and Iris. Geneva's reliability, organizational skills, loving care, and sense of humor gave the family much peace. Thanks also to Roosezena Samuel, Jerry Vincent and Rosie Spikes for their care of Iris. A special thanks to Ceci and Gary Gatlin for being such kind and thoughtful neighbors. Ceci and Gary were often the first on the scene ready to help when anything went wrong.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the United Methodist Church of the Pines, PO Box 1412 Jasper, TX 75951.

Services are under the direction of Stringer & Griffin Funeral Home of Jasper.