We have come today to celebrate the life of Wayne Herrington,
and recall who this person was and is to all of us who loved and
knew him.

Scripture

I didn't meet Wayne until he was already a part of our family. He
had known our brother Charlie before he met San.and I think
Charlie thought he was ok for his little sister. Even though I hadn't
met Wayne, I was aware of how much Sandra loved him. The
weekend she was suppose to get her engagement ring she and our
parents were visiting us in Las Cruces, but she didn’t tell anyone
that wayne was waiting for her to get home to give her an
engagement ring.. But- Getting home was not easy - unlike our
Daddy, who didn't stop for much when he traveled, he decided to
site see along the way between Las Cruces and Enochs with
several stops. Sandra couldn't believe it and thought they would
never get home. She did receive the beautiful ring he had for her,
and shortly afterward they were married and the rest is history.
One of the things that defined Wayne was the fact that he was not
afraid to pursue different challenges with different jobs that
involved moving to different towns and locations. Sandra can tell
you how any if you give her time to count. There are several other
words I could use to describe Wayne . He was hard working, there
was nothing Lazy about Wayner. He was always pushing on to
provide for the family
He loved so. He did love Sandra, Tammy and Todd with all his
heart. I first saw how hard he would work to be with them when he
was stationed in Germany. There was nothing to keep him from
bringing Sandra and Tammy to Kaiserslauten. Then when Todd
came along after thaey returned to the states he became an added
delight to Wayne..Both of his children reflect some characteristics
he instilled in them, love of God, love for family, hard work and
integrity. (I can’t leave out his hard head,the strong will and
determination. He gave you that too and that’s ok.
He loved them through the good times and the bad times and this
unconditional love for them was and is very special. He was tough,
maybe the toughest little guy I have ever known. I think that was
what was so hard on him when he became disabled and could no
longer work. He loved the Lord and his faith brought him through
so many things in his life..
One thing about Wayne was his belief that His word was good
enough and many times he trusted others to keep their word. If he
gave his word he meant it and too bad some of those in business
deals with him didn't have the same philosophy. After he processed
these experiences through, he would usually decide that they
would have to pay for their dishonesty, and he would go on with
his life.
His different lines of workwere: the newspaper business for the
Lubbock Avalance journal for quite a while. He served in the
army, he worked in a dental lab but like his father and brothers, he
spent most of his time as a Carpenter. The dictionary definition of
a carpenter is one who builds with wood. A workman who works
with wood. A synonym is a craftsman who works with wood. You
know Jesus and his family were carpenters, what a valiant
profession to be a part of,
I relate not only his creative talents to building and witnessing the
beautiful cabinets he would make, but also to his desire to help
people build their lives into something more beautiful. He was an
individual who was called Dad or Unc by people who weren’t
related to him, because they felt that special connection. Many
went to him for counsel, because they respected him. He was
always willing to help anyone who needed help.
During the time they lived in Van many times you could find
Wayne at Stonies with his brothers, nephews and friends. Here
while drinking coffee, they seemed to enjoy sharing creative
stories, solve the worlds problems or maybe just shoot the bull.
My husband Terry said he could tell a fishing story so well that
could see the fish jumping into the boat.
And he had this other side of him.He was always setting you up to
a verbal sparing about something. To some members of the family
he sometimes went from verbal to the physical. Isn't that right
Nelda ?? He and Nelda were always involved in a friendly banter
but one-day years ago,he surprised her and used his karate and
flipped her in the floor before she knew what was happening.
Nelda said just last week, that she was just a 13 yr old kid when
Wayne and Sandra married, and he was like a brother to her.
He had a great sense of humor. This quality and his faith got him
through bad times. His sense of humor t sometimes was expressed
with his very own vocabulary. Some of his favorites were "jickey
joints"- which could mean a disreputable place, or a place where
you could buy "goctchas". His explanation, well the people at that
jickey joint gotcha when they saw you coming and sold you that
junk". He always brought this up before or after your shopping
trips. He also had his own list of names from his vocabulary that he
applied to family members and friends. I don’ think I every he4ard
him call Dee Martin by his name, all I ever heard was Willy Dee,
or Dee Whiskey.
He loved to tell stories and he could really tell them, maybe
embellishing as he progressed. He was very likable and I think
most people he knew liked him. He loved to stay in contact with
his family, and tried to stay up with them even though they were
scattered from GA. Iowa to Calf. He would travel miles to see his
Mom and Dad and be with the family. It was fun to be with the
Herrington family, especially at the fish fries and see them interact.
Being with them, fishing with them and working with them was a
very happy time in Wayne's life.
Our family thinks he was special. My Mother and Daddy loved and
respected him greatly; Sandra's siblings and their spouses loved
him as well as our children and their children. This older last
generation (our grandchildren) got to know him and loved him, our
McKinley called him Uncle Whan and she liked to make him cards
and buy him gifts. She wanted his boo-boos to get better. I know
his kids, grandkids, his own brother, sister, nieces and nephews
could tell the same stories . (anyone want to tell a story?) He had
enough love for all of them.
In these later years his grandchildren have been a joy to him. I
think one of the reasons he fought so hard these last 10 years was
so that he could see them grow up. I know Rachel, Taylor and
Brandon will remember those special times with Pappy. He did get
to share in their lives. He was so proud of the 3 of you, who he
called Tay, Daisy doo, and Catfish. To Wayne’s delight he also
got to see Tammy bring into his life Don and Sam, who he called
Boy, Amy, Shane and the delightful great grand baby Caden, who
he called Crictek.
There are not enough words to come by to express what Wayne
has meant to all of us I believe Sandra’s words could help us who
admired him and saw him struggle so these last few years. Sandra
has said over and over through the years”Wayne is my hero” Most
of the time he made the best of his situation: pushing, not
excessively complaining, keeping his sense of humoar, staying on
the computer sending jokes (soemtmes risqué. He was also on the
phone keeping in touch with family and friends, encouraging and
showing concern for them.
There will be an empty place in our lives and heart, but this
emptiness can become less when we focus on the fact that his
struggles are over.
All around us we see dates along with names on the stones.
Between those dates you will see a dash between the date of birth
and date of death. You might say that the dash is a symbol and
represents that person’s life. So in memory of Wayne and a
challenge to all of us I want to share a poem. In the words you will
relate to the Wayne you knew, but also in his behalf I want to leave
something for all of us to think about.

The Dash poem

(From Terry)
Wayne had more than enough creative talents, from making beautiful household kitchen
cabinets, to convincing a person to go into a creative business venture, or motivating a
person, at the drop of the hat, into taking an overnight fishing trip to Arizona.
You know I often wondered, did Ross Perot steal his, “If it’s broke, just raise the hood
and fix it,” tag line from Wayne. I think we all remember Wayne’s, “Can do attitude.”
There weren’t many things he wouldn’t tackle.