Lyndon Ray Herridge

Lyndon Ray Herridge, son of Clyde R. and Ada M. Herridge and grandson of Jack and Della Herridge, passed away peacefully on Friday, September 15 surrounded by his family.

A memorial service celebrating Lyndon’s life will be held on Saturday, September 30 at 2:00pm at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, TX.

Lyndon was born on March 19, 1949 in Burnet, Texas and his childhood was spent in White Deer, TX. When Lyndon was fourteen years old, the family purchased land in Llano County and established a home and cattle ranch. Lyndon graduated from Llano High School in 1967. Lyndon enrolled at Howard Payne University, and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, graduating in 1972. He also became a member of the Kendall County Masonic Lodge, maintaining his membership for over fifty years.

After graduating from college, Lyndon began working as a Certified Public Account at Tesoro. He was recruited by Belton Kleburg Johnson to join their organization as the Executive Vice President and COO. The company was involved in oil and gas exploration, commercial real estate development across the United States, ranching/farming, manufacturing and banking.

After working for Johnson, Lyndon served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wright Manufacturing Company in Atlanta, Georgia and chairman of Stockton’s Bank in Cotulla, TX.

As a young adult, Lyndon began attending Trinity Baptist Church, where he met the love of his life, Claudia Merle Alexander. They fell in love and wed on June 4, 1976.  Three years later, Merle and Lyndon welcomed their first son, Brad Ray, in 1979.  Six years later in 1985 their second son, Blake Adam, was born.

As his family responsibilities grew, Lyndon made the intentional decision to leave the demands of the oil and gas industry and pursue his Christian calling – to use his business expertise to make a direct difference in his community. He went to work at United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County in 1992 as CFO, successfully fundraising millions of dollars to directly impact local non-profits in the greater San Antonio community. During his time at United Way, Lyndon completed a Non-Profit Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School and the University of Michigan. In addition, he earned the credentials to become a Certified Fund-Raising Executive. He served as Executive Vice President and COO until retiring as President and CEO in March 2019. After retiring he continued his involvement with United Way, serving as Vice Chair of the Board.

Lyndon was a selfless man who was fiercely loyal to his family and friends, looking out for their best interests at all times. He was generous with his resources and loved seeing other people happy. He was always willing to help lend his expertise to make life easier for others, whether that was helping with tax returns, giving career guidance and counseling, making business introductions, doing minor home repairs, or helping build fences and work cattle.

Lyndon often visited the family ranch in Llano that he co-managed with his younger sister, Gale, and her husband, Gary Parson. He shared an especially close bond with his sister. Their bond grew even deeper after their father’s passing as they forged a commitment to preserve the ranch’s legacy. Through the years, Lyndon spent many enjoyable hours with his brother-in-law, helping in various ranch projects. He also enjoyed many hours riding horses and hunting deer with his sons and grandchildren.

Lyndon felt most at home being outside in the country, admiring the beauty of God’s creation. His love of the outdoors spurred his love of cars and driving. Lyndon loved being on the open road and could drive for hours without tiring. He especially loved visiting beautiful places throughout the United States, taking his family on many special trips to national parks, battlefields, and other historic sites.

Faith and family were at the core of Lyndon’s life. Merle and he were so proud of their two sons, who entered full-time Christian ministry after graduating from Baylor University and Truett Seminary. Lyndon firmly believed in God’s providence, trusting in God through many hardships, including his son Blake’s multiple heart surgeries, his son Brad’s brain surgery as an adult, and Merle’s many battles with cancer. Through all of those valleys and in the years following the death of his beloved wife and soulmate of 42 years, he had an unwavering faith in God’s love and mercy. When diagnosed himself with terminal brain cancer, he found peace in knowing that God would never forsake him.

Lyndon is survived by his sons, Brad and Blake Herridge, his daughters-in-law, Mary and Mallory Herridge, and his grandchildren, Grant, Lucy, Maxton, and Meryl.  He is survived by his sister, Gale Parson and her husband Gary of Llano, Texas as well as by his sister-in-law, Gale Stanley and her husband Greg.

Lyndon will be buried at Bosqueville cemetery next to Merle, the enduring love of his life.

In Matthew 22:39 Jesus commands us to “Love your neighbor like yourself.” In lieu of flowers, Lyndon would be honored by a donation to your local United Way chapter or a non-profit that directly impacts your community. Lyndon also believed in the value of higher education, serving on the Advisory Board at Truett Theological Seminary. He would be honored by a gift to Baylor University or Howard Payne University.

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