Roll Call Tribute

Published May 22, 2010 Kerrville Daily Times Tom F. Herring Sr. INGRAM ' Tom F. Herring Sr., born on July 16, 1926, in Laredo, Texas, passed away on May 18, 2010 in Ingram, Texas, at the age of 83. His wide-ranging enthusiasm and unbounded energy brought him to the forefront in civic, religious, business, political, philanthropic and community progress. He achieved the very highest level in his chosen profession, the hospitality industry. His leadership skills first surfaced in high school, where he was a drum major of the band and winner of the 'Most Valuable Member' Award at Laredo's Martin High School. Following a tour of duty with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he attended Texas A&M University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1947. He then entered the wholesale lumber business when he established Pan Tex Milling Co., which dealt with the importation of Mexican pine products into the United States. It was during those years that he married Edith May Winters of San Antonio in 1948. When Mexico raised an embargo on the exportation of pine, he entered the construction business as vice president in charge of construction for Herring-Price Lumber Co. in Laredo, a construction firm founded by his father in the 1920s. It was during the 1950s that he and his wife vacationed at Niagara Falls and the inspiration for his entrance into the hospitality industry was born. While staying in a hotel overlooking the neighboring country of Canada, he envisioned the same concept would be popular with tourists in a hotel that would overlook our southern neighbor, Mexico. Thus, in 1960, with a dramatic career change, he built the La Posada Hotel in Laredo, overlooking the Republic of Mexico through the conversion of an existing structure that was the original Laredo High School. His career as a Texas hotelman now firmly launched, vaulted him to the very highest levels of the profession that would become his passion. He subsequently built the La Posada in San Antonio, which would later become the La Mansion, and the La Posada in McAllen, which was originally the Casa de Palmas. During this period, he served as president of the Texas Hotel and Motel Association and ultimately president of the American Hotel and Motel Association with his installation occurring in 1984 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. In later years, he was chairman of the board of the San Antonio-based Herring Group, a holding company with diversified interests. Throughout his life he was very philanthropic with emphasis on education, giving particularly to schools attended by his four grandchildren. Throughout his career as a leader in the hotel industry, his hallmark was to always convert a landmark structure into a hotel or utilize a river and old neighborhood, or a church, to create a special atmosphere that would become a destination unto itself. He was preceded in death by his father, Tom F. Herring; his mother, Isla Herring; and his sister, Edelweese Windrow. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Edith Herring; his two sons, Tom F. Herring Jr. and Tim H. Herring; daughter-in-law, Adriana 'Ardie' Herring; and his grandchildren, Jennifer Nicole Herring, Timothy H. Herring, Victoria 'Torrey' Ann Herring and Thomas F. Herring IV. He spent his last years enjoying the Texas Hill Country. In lieu of flowers, an endowment fund will be set up at Texas A&M University. Contact Porter Garner Jr., president of the Association of Former Students. Visitation will be Sunday, May 23, 2010, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North. Funeral services will be conducted on Monday, May 24, 2010, at 12 p.m., at the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow at Mission Burial Park North. You may sign the on-line guestbook at www.missionparks.com under the obituary section. Arrangements are under the direction of Mission Park North in San Antonio, 210-349-1414. Published May 22, 2010 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2010 Kerrville Daily Times

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