Robert Guss Herring, Jr. was born on May 9th, 1934 in Quentin Camp, Mississippi. His parents moved their family to Seattle, Washington in 1942 where he attended F A McDonald Elementary, Hamilton Junior High, Lincoln High School and earned a BA degree in Commercial Art from the University of Washington. He also played baseball, basketball and football with the Lincoln Lynx and basketball and football with the UW Huskies earning the nickname “Crazy Legs” for his ability to dodge tackles.
Following graduation from the UW, Robert joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Sheridan, IL and Carlisle Barracks, PA. After his discharge he worked at Milmanco Publishing for 40 years as a Graphics Arts Technical Illustrator. While there he was given top secret military clearance allowing him to work on military contracts with Boeing Aerospace.
Robert was a loving, confident, dependable husband and father devoted to his family. When playing a game with any of his kids, he would never just “let” them win. Winning had to be earned. But when they did finally beat him, he would give them full credit. He was a friendly person, easy to be around and enjoyed making people smile. He knew himself well and was comfortable with who he was.
Late in life he stayed positive while dealing with serious health issues beginning with kidney dialysis followed by colon cancer, amputation of his feet, Alzheimer’s and kidney cancer.
Robert passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home on Sunday, March 9th, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert Guss Herring, Sr. and Lessie (Hilliard) Herring; his brothers Archie Lawrence Herring and Benny Ross Herring; his son Roy Sherman Herring, Sr and his grandson Roy Sherman Herring, Jr.
Robert is survived by his first wife Dorothy Faye (Burruss) Herring and their children Kevin Lee Herring, Michelle Renae Herring and Robert Guss Herring, III. He is also survived by his current wife Cheryl “Cheri” Kay (Stratemeyer) Herring and their son Matthew Phillip Quentin Herring. He has 6 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Source: Seattle Medium
