Gary Herrington
COPLEY TWP - Gary Andrew Herrington, 73, of Copley TWP. went home to be with the Lord on March 25, 2024, in Akron, Ohio. Gary was born in Atlanta, GA on October 12, 1950 to the late Andrew Jinks and Minnie Opal (Prine) Herrington, Jr.
Gary moved to Kathleen, FL at the age of 12, where he graduated from Kathleen High School in 1968. After graduation he attended Polk Community College (now Polk State), graduating in 1970 with an AA in Computer Science. He then moved to Orlando, FL in 1971 working as a bank teller before attending Florida Technological University (FTU) now the University of Central Florida (UCF).
Prior to attending FTU he was a member of the Jaycees serving with distinction and was awarded a pin and did public speaking for the organization. Starting in his early years, Gary enjoyed chess, bicycle riding, reading science fiction, photography expanding to some wedding photography, computer science, and all technology, and included music and he was beginning to learn the keyboard. His interests expanded to include economics, business, political science, philosophy, and loved all sorts of humor. He loved motorcycles and bought a BMW motorcycle on which he took many long distance trips. After getting married he gave up his motorcycle because he believed it was too risky. His wife enjoyed being a passenger for shorter motorcycle rides. Later in life he developed an interest in religion and its origins beginning with a scholarly interest in researching a direct translation of the first books of the Bible and trying to find out why certain chapters were omitted. He had joined an academic organization for access to more arcane scholarly information. He also developed a deeper interest in mathematics and physics. He had a witty, subtle sense of humor, and was capable of being whimsical, and indulging in being silly and pantomiming with his wife. He knew how to have fun and be funny and told many witty jokes.
Gary met his wife, Gayle while in college and they married May 10, 1980 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Orlando. They bought a home in Maitland, FL. Prior to meeting each other, and after meeting, prior to marriage, they were space enthusiasts and enjoyed going to many launches including the space shuttle. A friend had a press pass and they were able to watch one launch with the press, followed later by a tour of the space facilities at NASA, including seeing the large Vehicle Assembly Building and seeing the enormous shuttle transport vehicles. They enjoyed a wide circle of friends with diverse, eclectic interests and had many dinner parties, and after buying a house: pool parties, cookouts, holiday parties, and birthday celebrations. They enjoyed eating at Orlando’s many specialty restaurants featuring cuisines from all over the world. They enjoyed Florida’s many theme parks including the very old original ones. They enjoyed frequent canoeing and swimming at Wekiva
Springs Park along with friends. They rode bikes and went on hikes in the forests since meeting and included many of their more athletic friends who enjoyed these activities. They also attended any art shows sine Gayle was also an artist and participated in some of the area art shows. Gary worked with Orange County School board for 7 years, first as a programmer and then a systems analyst.
In June of 1991 Gary and Gayle moved to Birmingham, AL where Gary worked as a programmer/systems analyst while Gayle attended medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine.
In June of 1995, they moved to Fairlawn, Ohio for Gayle’s internal medicine residency at Summa Health Systems/Akron City Hospital. Gary began working for computer contracting companies as a computer programmer/ systems analyst.
In October of 2000, they bought a house in Copley where Gary continued his job. One of his contracting jobs was at Key Bank where they recruited and hired him full-time with benefits, which he liked. Gary was very popular wherever he worked, and he started a food newsletter alerting coworkers about great food left over from top brass meetings. During his last year with Key Bank, he was promoted to Data Base Administrator prior to retiring. In Ohio, they frequently visited many scenic metro parks and the Tow path and also went on many bike rides and enjoyed gardening flowers at their new home. They enjoyed going to many concerts both at Blossom and some big-name ones in downtown Cleveland, and they attended many plays in the Playhouse District. They both loved science fiction and action movies and attended most of the series of Marvel, DC, Star Trek, and other fantasy series including Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and other genres. They enjoyed much of what Ohio had to offer including Amish country, local chocolate factories, and its many bookstores. They also enjoyed vacationing in Florida, going to the Western side beaches around Sarasota, visiting the theme parks, visiting with family and friends. They visited other historical cities in the Northeast with Boston being a favorite.
He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Gayle Margaret Herrington; sister Lynne Herrington (Terry) McNutt; niece Katie McNutt; nephew Sean (Samantha) McNutt and their children Lorelei, Liam, and Karalee.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday May 4, 2024, at the Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 85 N. Miller Rd. Fairlawn, Ohio 44333. In lieu of flowers and plants, memorial contributions may be made to the American Stroke Association designating to research.
To Share a Memory, Send a Condolence, or Light a Candle please visit the Tribute Wall at www.billowfuneralhomes.com (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)