Kenneth "Ken" Francis Herring was born January 2, 1936, in Oklahoma City, OK. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Bartlesville, OK. He attended Jefferson Grade School, Central Junior High School, and College High School graduating in 1954 with honors. While at Central he was elected Student Body President. At College High he served one year as class president. He was involved in all major sports during his school years. After high school, Ken attended the University of Oklahoma where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.

While there he met his future wife, Jean A. Troxell of Shawnee, OK. Jean and Ken were married August 17, 1957. They moved to Oklahoma City to begin family life. Jean was employed by the government of Oklahoma and Ken worked at Nabisco. In 1958, they moved to Tulsa, OK, where their son, Steven J. Herring, was born.

Ken worked at Cherokee Steel and Orbit Valve during this period. In 1960, Ken accepted a computer programmer position with Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, thus beginning a 39-year career in the information technology field. While at Phillips, Ken simultaneously resumed his college education and earned his B.S. degree in mathematics from the University of Tulsa in 1964. After graduating, Ken accepted a position with Sinclair Oil in Tulsa.

In 1966, Ken joined the computer staff at Texas Instruments in Dallas, TX, as manager of programming. In 1969, he was recruited by American Airlines in Tulsa beginning a 30-year career with AA. Ken held various management positions while in Tulsa. In 1985, he was promoted to managing director of the Passenger Service System in charge of the programming staff at American and was relocated to the airline’s headquarters in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex. Shortly after the transfer to DFW, tragedy struck as Jean was diagnosed with cancer. After a 30-month battle she passed away in January of 1988.

In November 1999, Ken married Gayle Williams. Gayle was a school classmate of Ken where they first met in the seventh grade. After the marriage, they moved to Farmers Branch, TX. In 1999, Ken officially retired from American Airlines.

During his working career, Ken’s love of sports was apparent in his devotion to golf. He became an accomplished amateur golfer winning several company-wide tournaments and many of his country club tournaments. His last round of golf occurred when he was 82. He did, however, continue daily practicing his swing until his death. In early 2016, Ken and Gayle moved to Colorado Springs, CO, to be near his son and his family. Shortly after the move, Gayle died unexpectedly. Ken remained in their home for 10 more years. He had recently moved into an assisted living facility where he lived until his death.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Edith Shepard, his stepfather, W.W. Shepard, and his two wives Jean and Gayle.

He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Jackie Herring, six grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren.

Arrangements are under the direction of Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home of downtown Bartlesville. To leave an online condolence for Ken, visit www.honoringmemoriesbartlesville.com.