Russell Albert Herrington Jr arrived to bless this earth on August 1, 1936 in Detroit, Michigan and on September 8, 2021 when he was 85 years old, God said your work on earth is done, well done good and faithful servant. Russ was the second child and first son of four children born to Russell and Mary Emma Herrington. Most of his childhood was spent in the oilfield town of Sundown Texas, where he always wanted to be a cowboy and had a pony named “Silver”. So many stories of his shenanigans and memorizing cowboy songs from the radio. The family moved to Lubbock when he was twelve and worked on the Pitch Fork Ranch when he was fourteen. The Herrington family moved to Odessa when Russ was starting his junior year at Odessa High School, he met a senior named Sara Willis that caught his eye. Russ joined the Future Farmers of America and bought a calf from the Pitch Fork Ranch which he called “Mr. D”. He showed Mr. D and won Grand Champion and his future wife Sara was the Rodeo Queen. Russ graduated in 1955. Russ attended Texas Tech but he never dated anyone else but Sara.
Sara attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene and Russ would not marry her until she graduated. Sara graduated on June 2, 1958 and they married at 1st Baptist Church Odessa on June 7, 1958. They have been married 63 years.
Russ served in the military and was assigned to Fort Gordan in Augusta, Georgia as a radio teletype instructor. One of the highlights was doing radio teletype communication for the Masters Tournament on that beautiful golf course. As Russ would say, “Well, someone had to do it”. Their first born came at that time, Debra Diana. That is why he would call her his Georgia Peach. After his honorable discharge the family moved to Lubbock, Texas where Russ continued his college education and butchered. Michael Lance was born, and this is where Russ was ordained as a deacon at Oakwood Baptist Church.
Russ was led to go into the mission field and went before the Southern Baptist Convention Home Mission Board and he moved his family to Yosemite National Park where he managed the Park Village Grocery Store and Sara taught school to the Park Ranger children. They started a church in their home, Russ preaching and Sara playing the piano. For the next 11 years they moved through out Northern California taking positions at different churches when there was a pastor needed. Including Sacramento, Greenville and Portola. Russ was known to come home and take what blankets and pillows were at the house and give it to someone that needed it more than us. One time Sara bought him 6 white shirts (he wore them to the butcher shop every day) and he gave three of them away to a minister that needed them more than he did.
Russ decided to move his family back to Odessa when his father passed away unexpectedly to take care for his mother and brother. His older sister, Nancy said “Rusty was not only a good son but the BEST son”. He butchered at Bill Sears Grocery Store before purchasing the Kiddie Kollege Kindergarten in 1977 where Russ was the administrator, bookkeeper, bus driver, maintenance man and physical education teacher. Sara taught music and started teaching in the kindergarten class. At one of Russ’s Odessa High School Reunions, he was with three of his fellow FFA buds, Larry Price, Buddy West and Eddie Clayton. Someone asked what they were doing and Russ answered, “Larry is a Doctor of Dentistry and very successful. Buddy is a Representative in the Texas House, Eddie is a veterinarian and me well, and I am still in kindergarten.” Many children went through Kiddie Kollege those 32 years that they owned it. Russ was always found telling jokes, encouraging and teaching every moment he could. Together Russ and Sara managed and grew the Kiddie Kollege till they were 72 years old.
Russ was a humble, generous, compassionate man who loved life. When you think of the word integrity, Russ comes to mind. Every day was considered a gift and he started every day trying to make each day better than the last. He was always found teaching from young children to youth, from young adults, to senior adults and, as a matter of fact he led prayer meeting on Wednesday, August 25 at Belmont Baptist Church and three days after he was admitted to the hospital with COVID and pneumonia. Two weeks later Wednesday, September 8, he joined a Wednesday prayer meeting in heaven at 6:20pm.
He will always be remembered as a loving, faithful husband, father, brother, PoPo, and friend. A gentle servant of God who still at the age of 85 would quietly clean the church every Saturday because it was something, he knew he could do to make a difference.
Russ was an encourager. One thing he was known to say when he woke his children up in the mornings, or to close a letter was, “Smile and the Whole World will Smile with You”! Russ hand wrote messages to everyone and people have shared the letters, cards and notes to the family because they have saved them through the years.
People would not know that Russ had scripture taped to his mirror in the bathroom, attached to his visor in the car and in his pocket and wallet. One time he was asked why and he said, “Because I am not a smart man and it takes time to memorize words I want to live by”. Russ also read a chapter out of Proverbs every day. He bought Proverb books recently for his Sunday school class and then he decided to buy more for those that attended Prayer Meeting on Wednesday night. When you attend the memorial the family would like you to have one of these books and challenge yourself to read a chapter every day. When you met Russ you knew you had met someone special.
Russ was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Mary Adams and brother Geale.
He is survived by his wife Sara, Odessa TX, Sister Nancy and her husband Rick Zinn, Centennial Colorado, brother-in-law Roy Adams and his wife Sue, Arab Alabama, daughter Debra and her husband Gary Young, Abilene Texas and son Lance and his wife Lori Herrington, Amarillo, TX. He has 4 grandchildren, April Dawn Young Knudsen (Daniel), Alma, Colorado, Bryan Young (Catherine), Abilene TX, Heath Herrington (Chelsea), Amarillo, TX and Blake Herrington (Jordan), Midlothian, TX. He also has 6 great-grandchildren, Kinsley, Braylee, William, McCoy, Claire, and Miles who will join the family in December. He also has an honoree granddaughter Ranell Garner.
Services will be Saturday, September 18, 2021:
10:00am a Memorial Service will be at Belmont Baptist Church in Odessa, TX
3:00 pm a Gravesite Service will be at Resthaven Memorial Park in Lubbock, TX where full military honors will be given
Memorials would be appreciated in memory of Russ to Belmont Baptist Church, Odessa Texas
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hubbardkellyfuneralhome.com for the Herrington family.
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