ROBERT JOHN HERRINGTON

La Conner resident Robert John Herrington died at age 94 on Easter morning, April 20, at Mira Vista Care Center in Mount Vernon after suffering an earlier stroke.

Bob was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon on December 12, 1919. He attended Pelican Grammar School and Klamath Union High School. He joined the Army Engineers in 1937, and was discharged in 1940, and then went into the Army Reserves.

He attended Oregon State University. He was called back into the Army 29th Engineers in 1941 and made Master Sergeant in 1942. He later served with 656 Engineers in Europe making maps for the troops. He left the Army in 1945. He went back to Oregon State University, graduating phi kappa phi as a civil engineer. He stayed on to teach surveying and descriptive geometry to sophomores until 1952. Bob was a registered civil engineer and land surveyor in Oregon, Washington and Louisiana.

After Oregon State, Bob went on to be Coos Bay city engineer, port manager, and city manager.

In 1960 he moved to Boeing in Louisiana and in 1964 managed fabrication of the control room for building the Apollo moon rocket. He then moved to the Seattle area with Boeing, working in the Facilities Department becoming a manager and retiring in 1983.

Bob married Arlene K. Hedeen in 1970 and lived in Seattle. They built a summer home at Shelter Bay. After retirement they moved to Shelter Bay, where they lived for 20 years. Bob was elected the third president of Shelter Bay Community Association.

Later, they moved to LaConner Retirement Inn and Warm Beach Retirement Community, where Arlene died. He lived his last few years in LaConner.

Bob loved fishing and crabbing in local waters and fishing off the coast of Vancouver Island. He was a member of Kiwanis, Shelter Bay Yacht Club and a Mason.

Bob is survived by his daughter Debra Zwald of Tillamook Oregon; his son John Herrington of Portland Oregon; his stepsons Marvin Hedeen of Kirkland and Paul Hedeen of Leavenworth; and his loving companion Sara Merkle of LaConner.

His private burial is at Tahoma National Cemetery.