John Hering

He attended grade school in Golden until 1939, when he moved to Mansfield. He attended Mansfield Senior High School, where he was a member of the undefeated Tyger 1941 football team, graduating in 1943.

During World War II, John served in the United States Army Air Corps and piloted a B-17 bomber on 23 missions over Germany. On one mission, due to damage from anti-aircraft projectiles, he crash landed in Belgium. After evading German troops, John and the remainder of his crew got help from the Belgian underground and returned to England. On February 7, 1944 he received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

John graduated from Ohio University in 1949, where he played first string halfback for the Bobcats. John was employed at Mansfield Tire & Rubber, Crall's Corner Store on Taylor Road and as an adjuster for State Farm Insurance, retiring in 1990.

He married Lucille "Tootie" Chesrown in 1949, and they had two daughters, Susan Dowis and Linda Hering. He was preceded in death by Tootie this past January, and by Susan in 2012. He is survived by Linda Hering and her husband, Richard Otto, their two daughters, Liz and Heidi Otto, and a grandson, Max Dowis.

He was an avid follower of the Michigan Wolverines. He enjoyed deer and elk hunting in Wyoming and Colorado, and he and his wife made numerous cross country trips that usually included visits back to Golden. John adhered to a strict diet of four orange food groups ~ Cheese Nips, Orange Crush, Cheetos and Circus Peanuts.

Per John's request, there will be no services, as he felt he had outlived most of his friends. The family will conduct a private release of his ashes at Snowy Range in Wyoming, one of his favorite hunting and sheep ranching locations.

The Diamond Street Home of Wappner Funeral Directors is handling arrangements for John Karl Hering.