Jack E. Herington

Jack E. Herington, a 25-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at age 90, while under hospice care at the Nancy House at Fleet Landing, Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Mr. Herington was born in Heyworth, Illinois on August 13, 1925 to Olof W. and Lucille Jensen Herington. He attended Michigan State University during bombardier training, leading to his commission as an officer in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. Following his discharge in 1945, he attended James Milliken University in Decatur, Illinois and was graduated from the University of Illinois Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. He was admitted to the practice of law in Illinois, the District of Columbia, the D.C. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

In August 1950, Mr. Herington began his 25-year career as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He served in the Atlanta, New York and Springfield, Illinois offices. Among his many responsibilities, he started the first Organized Crime Squad in the FBI’s New York office.

In 1961 Mr. Herington was assigned to FBI headquarters in Washington, DC. He worked in the Bureau’s Crime Records Division, Inspection Staff and Domestic Intelligence Division, where he became head of the Internal Security section.

He was promoted to the rank of Inspector in 1968 and represented the FBI in dealing with a number of national legal organizations. Mr. Herington was appointed to FBI Director’s staff in January 1973 as Inspector in Charge of Press Services. Later that year, he was promoted to Deputy Assistant Director of the Legal Counsel Division, serving there until his retirement in 1975.

Following his retirement from the FBI, Mr. Herington joined the U.S. Independent Telephone Association as Director of Government Relations. He later was appointed General Counsel and served in that position until his retirement in 1986.

Jack met his beloved wife Beverly when she was a student at Milliken University. They married shortly after her graduation and were together for 68 years. They moved from Potomac, Maryland to Pawleys Island, South Carolina in 1988, where he was active in various civic, club and church affairs. He was a member of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI; St. Paul’s United Methodist Church; the Litchfield Country Club; and the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

In early 2011 the couple moved to the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida to be closer to family, where they attended Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church. Jack is survived by his wife Beverly; their three children, Nancy Wood of Jacksonville, Florida; Mary Lou Blanton of Worthington, Ohio; and David Herington, M.D., of Morganton, North Carolina; seven grandchildren, Joshua Roberts, Rachel Roberts, Micah Roberts, Adrienne Cavender, Emily Smith, Jennifer Herington and Kathy Tompkins; and five great-grandchildren, Taylor Roberts, Dane Roberts, Jackson Roberts, Connor Roberts and Jude Smith.

There will be a memorial service for Mr. Herington on Friday, April 29 at 11:00 am at the Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church. Pastor David Pierce will be presiding.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257; to Nancy House, One Fleet Landing Blvd, Atlantic Beach, FL 3223; or to Former Agents of the FBI Foundation, 3717 Fettler Park Dr., Dumfries, VA 22025 www.socxfbi.org.

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