John Joseph Herring, Sr.

It is with great sadness that the family of John Joseph Herring Sr. announce his passing on October 19, 2024. John, age 83, resident of Tappahannock, Virginia will be sadly missed by his wife of sixty-three years, Helen, his five sons, eldest John Jr. and his wife Tina, and their three children Elise, Brice, and Brock, son Bruce and his wife Valerie, and their two children Zachary and Joshua, son Brent and his wife Susan, and their three children, Mark, Laura, and Matthew, son Jay and his wife Kasia, and their two children, Nel and Alenka, and John’s youngest son Craig.

 John was born on April 15, 1941 in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Benjamin Franklin Herring and Helen Catherine Uzzo Herring of Wilmington, Delaware. He graduated from P.S. Dupont High School in Wilmington, Delaware in 1959. During his time in high school, John excelled in sports including basketball, football, baseball, track and field, and swimming. 

 After graduation, John began working in the loan department at the Bank of Delaware. He then embarked on a sixty-year career in textiles at DuPont, W.L. Gore and Associates, H. Warshow & Sons Inc, and A.Y. Tech to become a world renowned expert in industrial technical fibers.

John and Helen met in 1960 where they both worked at the Bank of Delaware. John knew Helen was the one and decided to coach the company softball team when he saw her name on the roster. A sixty-four year love affair followed with laughter, joy, and accomplishment. 

In addition to his successful career in industrial fabrics, John was a game warden in Pennsylvania, trained dogs for field trials, and owned a large boarding and grooming establishment known as Windsong Kennels. Notably, John bred and showed German Shorthaired Pointers competitively at such venues as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and the National Dog Show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1973, one of John’s dogs, Windsong’s Country Squire, won Best of Breed at Westminster to become the number one shorthair in the country.

John loved his family deeply and worked everyday to make their lives better. He and his wife Helen instilled a strong work ethic in all of their children knowing it was the best path to a happy and fulfilling life.

Preceding John in death are parents, Benjamin Franklin Herring and mother Helen Catherine Uzzo Herring and his sister Carol Anne Herring Koper of Bradenton, Florida.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 27, 2024 from 12:30-2:30 pm at Faulkner Funeral Homes, Marks-Bristow Chapel at 206 N Church Lane, Tappahannock, VA 22560, followed by the service at 3:00 pm at St. Timothy’s Catholic Church, 413 Timothy Lane, Tappahannock, VA 22560. Family only interment will be held following the ceremony.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in John’s memory may be directed to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (aspca.org).