Dr Lee Pierce Herrington | News, Sports, Jobs


Emeritus University Professor Lee Pierce Herrington died on September 19, 2021 at the age of 88. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 65, Nancy Jean Herrington. He led a life of excellence and character as a father, husband, scholar, teacher and friend.

Born June 11, 1933 in New Haven, Connecticut, he graduated from Hamden Hall Country Day School where he and Nancy met and made lifelong friends. Lee’s higher education began at the University of Maine. His studies were cut short when he volunteered to serve in the military during the Korean War. He and Nancy married in 1955 and they moved to Maine where he graduated in forestry. Lee received a master’s degree in tree physiology and a doctorate in forest meteorology from Yale University. His research on the role of weather and microclimates in the spread and development of forest fires has been groundbreaking.

In 1966 he began his career at the College of Environmental and Forestry Sciences (ESF) at SUNY where he developed an interest in urban forestry, the study of how trees interact with urban environments. He was a leader of the Tree City USA movement and helped beautify cityscapes across the country.

Professor Herrington was a pioneer in GIS technology. From 1984 he taught and researched the application of GIS to the analysis and management of environmental and natural resources. He then served as Director of the Applied Geographic Information Systems Laboratory and served on the boards of the Institute for GeoSpatial Technology and the Regional Applications Center for the Northeast at Cayuga Community College, funded by NASA.

Among his many honors, Lee cherished his award as Emeritus Professor of Resource and Information Management at SUNY-ESF (2015) and his Lifetime Achievement Award from NYS GIS (2019). He was the creator of a wind measuring device called a driven anemometer, for which he obtained a patent. Among his greatest sources of pride were the generations of graduate students he guided through their academic and social development, ultimately filling the ranks of academia, industry, and government departments with dozens of his offspring. intellectual. In retirement, he cherished the lunch group of professors emeritus at the ESF.

A resident of Syracuse for 55 years, Lee has enjoyed escapades in the Adirondacks to “Rooms,” the vacation home he and Nancy hand-built from an A-frame kit in Indian Lake. He was a skilled craftsman and a real contender for the best collection of tools among his brothers-in-law. Lee was an amateur radio enthusiast and built his own radios and computers. Full of energy and good humor, he was an avid swimmer and enjoyed skiing, hiking, rafting, canoeing, sailing and golf. This latest endeavor he made late in life and enjoyed despite locking out the highest rewards on golf outings. Even though he “never touched the stuff,” he liked to bring his coffee to Nancy every morning. He has been a longtime student and enjoyed intellectual talks on topics such as how tree rings teach history and lightning until his passing.

His dedication to his wife included decades of participating in Syracuse University basketball games. He cherished the feel of Section 113 of the Carrier Dome. That said, despite his amazement at the athleticism and character of generations of Orange, he ultimately scorned basketball himself as he felt that no proper competition could break the rules (through fouling) like a legitimate strategy.

Lee is survived by his sons Matthew (Shannon), Bradford (Debbie) and daughter Susan (Dominic). His son Wayne (Brenda) predeceased him in 2013. His grandchildren are Turner, Ned, Will, Campbell, Alexis, Carson and Colton. Lee is also survived by a sister, Brenda Isle.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Lee and Nancy Herrington Scholarship Fund at Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, Connecticut: hamdenhall.org/giving/give-today. Lee and Nancy’s life celebrations will take place this spring in Essex and Syracuse.

Interment will be in Riverview Cemetery, Essex, Connecticut.

About Mark A. Tomlin

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