“Skip”
Died peacefully at home, Friday, April 5, 2019, with his beloved wife of 65 years Joy Field Herrick and his
daughter Louisa by his side. Born in Buffalo on August 10, 1924, Skip attended Franklin School and
graduated from Youngstown High School while his father was Executive Director at Old Fort Niagara. Skip was President of his high school senior
class. Skip’s freshman year at Cornell was interrupted by Pearl Harbor. He enlisted
in the US Army, volunteering for the Field Artillery, and sailed to England aboard The Queen Mary. He was part of the D-Day invasion force that stormed Omaha Beach. His unit was selected to march in the Paris victory parade down the Champs-Élysées and around the Arc de Triomphe. After Paris, he
served under General Patton in The Battle of the Bulge and at Remagen. He was awarded The Bronze Star for his service.
Skip co-authored the book “Scatter Come Together”, which details the
actions of the 200th Field Artillery unit during WWII. After WWII, Skip returned to Cornell,
earned his Engineering degree, was a member of the varsity ski team, and enrolled in ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps). He graduated Cornell in 1950, completed training at Ft. Bragg, NC, and became a commissioned officer in the US Army.
In fall 1950, Skip started working at Worthington Corporation, but when North Korea invaded South Korea, the newly minted 2nd Lieutenant shipped off to Fort Sill, OK to train South Korean troops at the Field Artillery School. After the Korean War, Skip returned to Worthington for a 30-year career.
He lectured at Clarkson College and was author of several articles on the engineering of large-scale pumps including the water pumps that help generate power from Niagara Falls.
During this period, he earned his pilot’s license, flying seaplanes out of North Tonawanda.
In December 1952, Skip met Joy Taylor Field and fell in love at first sight. They
were married on September 12, 1953 in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canada. They designed and built their dream house on “The Farm” in East Aurora, living there for 55 years, raising three children, and spending happy summers camping in Parry Sound, Canada. He created The Herrick Land Corporation, so the 40+ acres of land would be preserved among like-minded conservationists. In 2010, they moved
into the “Boathouse” next to the ponds his father had built in the early 1930’s. Skip was devoted to Buffalo and East Aurora. He was Vice President of the Roycroft Revitalization Corporation, Senior Warden of St. Matthias Episcopal Church, served on the Elma Planning Board, the Landmark Society of
the Niagara Frontier where he was awarded the Landmarker Award for his longstanding and dedicated service, and was President of the East Aurora Swimming Club. He also helped The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Shaw Festival, and the Western New York Land Conservancy, and was a member of the men’s discussion group Hammer and Tongs.
He is survived by his wife Joy Taylor Field Herrick, his daughter Louisa Herrick Crosby, his sons Thompson Maxwell Herrick and Richard Stockton Herrick, and six grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Matthias Episcopal Church, 374 Main Street, East Aurora, NY, Saturday, April
27, at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Western New York Land Conservancy, P.O. Box 471, East Aurora, NY 14052, or online at wnylc.org
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