Dean Andrew Herington

Dean Andrew Herington died at Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina on Tuesday, October 6. He was 75.

Dean lived a life filled with love, travel, friendship, and of course, music. He was born September 11th, 1951 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to West Long Branch, New Jersey as an infant. He attended Harvard, where he studied mathematics and was a dedicated member and student conductor of the Harvard Band, forming friendships lasting a lifetime.

Fittingly, Dean met Elizabeth Lacey through music and dance. Elizabeth remembers first meeting Dean at a Scottish Dance, where the rumored "ladies’ man" was playing in the band. A fateful evening of caroling in 1986 sparked the beginning of a life-long partnership filled with music and love. They wed at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on September 3rd, 1989 and moved to Hillsborough soon after. The next October, they welcomed their son, Andrew, into their family.

Dean was a brilliant software engineer, earning his master's degree in computer science at UNC Chapel Hill in 2001. He loved traveling, the outdoors, and sharing ice cream with his family. He and Elizabeth instilled a life-long love for the outdoors in Andrew from age 4 when they took him camping.

In life, Dean played music as much as he could. He sang, played piano, clarinet, and saxophone, and composed arrangements for church, jazz, and folk tunes. He was a founding member of Footloose Contra Dance band, long-time member of Sunday waltz sessions, participated in the Little German Band, played and danced in various international folk groups, and sang in the New Hope Presbyterian Church choir. Dean and Elizabeth traveled internationally to music camps, returning with new ideas and songs to share. For the past seventeen years, Dean accompanied Elizabeth in her voice lessons almost every week.

Friends, as well as anyone who encountered Dean, will remember him as someone who always showed up for others, quietly helping, participating, and making things possible. He actively joined groups and committees, and generously contributed where his organized, methodical mind could help. He was always helping Elizabeth weed their garden, and gathered pecans each year from their trees.

Dean is survived by his wife Elizabeth Lacey, son Andrew, and daughter-in-law Varya, as well as his sister Ann and husband Rick, and his brother Jon and partner Gina. He was preceded in death by his parents, Norman and Doris.

A Celebration of Life will be planned later this autumn. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Orange Congregations in Mission in Dean's honor.