Roger Herrling passed away on June 8 of natural causes at the age of 88.
He was born Aug. 28, 1928, in Duluth, Minnesota, and came to California when he was 19 with his father and brother. He met Toni Bonifield when he was 21. The couple married two years later and were together for the next 67 years. They had five children, Dana, Cindy, Grant, Randy and Brad. The family often spent time together on wonderful summer vacations to Lake Tahoe, Carmel and Hawaii.
Roger attended UC Berkeley and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. While at Cal he was a member of the crew team where he rowed under legendary coach Caroll M. “KY” Ebright. His college career was cut short by the Korean War. At that time, Roger was accepted into the Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he earned the rank of second lieutenant. The war ended just as he was ready to deploy.
Roger was also active in the La Cañada Father’s Council, of which he became president in the early ’70s. He was Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 502 from La Cañada Flintridge for many years, in which his boys were members. He was instrumental in helping several Scouts attain the rank of Eagle, including his son Brad. One of the many projects under the direction of Roger had the Scouts building their own kayaks and traveling down the Colorado River several times.
In his later years, Roger was a member of the Crescenta-Cañada Rotary Club. The Herrling family lived in La Cañada Flintridge for 52 years. Eventually, Roger and Toni decided to spend their retirement years in Big Bear Lake at their vacation home.
In addition to his wife and children, Roger is survived by five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
