Born on a Pender County tobacco farm on July 16, 1928, to Kathleen Rodgers and Alfred B. Herring, W.B., as he was known to his family, spent his childhood working on that tobacco farm with his two older sisters. At the age of 10 his mother began teaching him to play the piano, fostering a love of music that would last a lifetime.
After high school in Atkinson, he matriculated to Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University) where he graduated in 1949. He then attended Bowman Gray School of Medicine (now WFU School of Medicine), graduating fourth in his class in 1953. Upon graduation, he entered the US Navy and served an internship at the Pensacola Naval Hospital before being assigned to the Fleet Marines as a medical officer and serving in Japan, Korea, and California. Once discharged from the Navy, he served a three-year residency in internal medicine at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, VA, after which he practiced internal medicine for two years in Albemarle, NC.
It was then that Dr. Herring turned his professional sights to the field of hematology, entering into a two-year hematology fellowship at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. At the completion of his training, he joined the hospital’s faculty. When, in 1966, a teaching affiliation between the UNC School of Medicine and The Moses Cone Hospital was established, Dr. Herring was appointed to oversee and develop the Family Medicine Residency Program (one of the first in the nation) and the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Moses Cone. He gave administrative support to the Pediatric Residency Program there as well. Dr. Herring’s leadership, recruitment of first volunteer faculty from practicing physicians in Greensboro, and then full-time faculty, was critical to building Moses Cone into the respected community teaching hospital it is today. He also contributed significantly to the rehabilitation, cancer, research, and geriatrics programs there.
All the while developing the residency programs, Dr. Herring continued to do clinical research in hematology and was the author or co-author of 30 scientific papers or book chapters. He is noted for describing a previously unknown non-malignant familial disorder that closely resembles chronic granulocytic leukemia – “hereditary neutrophilia.” He also studied four generations of a family that carried a gene which, when paired with another weak allele, resulted in severe chronic hemolytic anemia. This gene product was designated: “pyruvate kinase Greensboro” in accordance with the practice of naming an abnormal protein after the city in which it was discovered.
Dr. Herring retired in the early 2000s so that he could be with his wife during her final years. It was after her passing that he found fellowship in a new group – the Bryan Park Senior Men’s Golf Association. It was there that he made dear friends, many of whom were military veterans.
Dr. Herring’s professional honors include the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Medical Alumni Association of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine; Moses Cone Hospital’s naming of the Inpatient Internal Medicine Teaching Service for him; and, most treasured, recognition by his residents and colleagues for his contributions to medical education at Moses Cone Hospital. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Dr. Herring’s father introduced him to quail hunting as a child; he shot his first quail at 6; and his subsequent love of English setters stayed with him through his final days. And in between, he added duck hunting and salt-water fishing to his huntsman’s repertoire.
The love of classical music initiated by his mother actually led him to his wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Hawks, whom he met through their mutual love of music at Wake Forest. Together, they enjoyed many years in the choir at First Baptist Church and were faithful supporters of the Greensboro Symphony, Eastern Music Festival, and the music program at UNC Greensboro. He often regaled his daughter and visitors with his ability to play the piano, even during the last few months of his life.
Dr. Herring was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 54 years, Elizabeth “Betty” Hawks Herring, his son David Bryan Herring, his grandson Patrick Guy Herring, and his step grandson Andrew Carson Brown.
Surviving are daughter Myra Herring Brown (James “Bugsy”) of High Point; daughter-in-law Julia Smith of Greensboro; grandson Brett Herring of Greensboro; step daughter-in-law Rachel Hodge Brown and step grandchildren Abby and Tanner Brown of Holly Springs.
The family would like to express their deepest appreciation for the faithful, loving, and professional caregivers who cared for Dr. Herring during the final years of his life: Maggie Richmond, Ethel Miller, Tasha Rice, Geneva Neal, and Kenisha White.
A memorial service will be held at the First Baptist Church, Greensboro, at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 28. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Memorials may be directed to The William B. Herring, M.D. Fund for Internal Medicine Teaching Program, Moses Cone Hospital, 1200 North Elm St. Greensboro, NC 27401; Mary’s House, 520 Guilford Avenue, Greensboro, NC, 27401; Ruth House, 624 Forest Brook Drive Greensboro, NC, 27406; Leslie’s House, 851 W. English Road, High Point, NC, 27262; or Carolina Veterinary Assistance & Adoption Group, 394 Cook Florist Road, Reidsville, NC, 27320.
Hanes Lineberry North Elm Chapel is assisting the Herring family.
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