John Mack Herreid

John Mack Herreid, husband, father, grandfather and friend, passed away on June 4, 2025 at the age of 86.

John was born on May 21st, 1939, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Lillian Mack Herreid and Arthur Herreid. He was raised in Summit, South Dakota, and attended South Dakota State University, earning a degree in engineering. Upon completing his education at SDSU, John joined the army. He was stationed in several places, but most often talked about his time in Germany, and the ride on the Queen Mary that brought him there. John spent five months in Vietnam, and returned home to Summit in 1966.

On July 9th, 1966, John met the love of his life, Kay Lee (Opitz). They met at a dance and he truly swept her off of her feet. He proposed to her three weeks later, and married her on October 1st, 1966. Together they had three children, Kristen Hagopian (Victor), Elizabeth Wynkoop, and Stacey Halstead (Daniel). Their life took them to many places, moving from South Dakota to New Orleans, LA, to Green Bay, WI, to Jamaica, and finally to Wallingford, PA. where they lived for 43 years. While raising their family, John earned two Masters Degrees, and worked for Scott Paper Company from 1979 to 1992. He then worked for ERX Logistics, and then PECO, before retiring in 2000. After two months of retirement he got restless, and started another career in real estate. He continued in real estate until 2020.

John was an avid golfer and huge Phillies fan. When living in Green Bay, he would be on the golf course if it was over 40 degrees, and from 1979 through the early 2000’s, he loved attending games at The Vet and then The Linc. He also loved to travel; he and Kay Lee were known to cruise multiple times a year. He did not shy away from adventurous excursions; he could be found ziplining or parasailing. He loved being her husband, he loved being a father, and he loved being a grandfather. He would get on any ride in an amusement park, attended as many little league games as he could, and never missed a school play, dance recital or choir concert until he simply was not well enough.

John was preceded in death by his parents and his younger sister, Mariella Herreid. He is survived by his wife and children, and his grandchildren Katherine Hagopian (20), Lillianna Wynkoop (19), Robert Hagopian, (17) and Benjamin Wynkoop (17).

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, June 20th at The Donohue Funeral Home, 3300 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square, PA 19073. Family will be welcoming guests at 11:30am, and Services will begin at 12:30pm.

A luncheon will follow at 2pm at Paxon Hollow Golf Club, as John spent many hours of happiness golfing there. If you are able to join us for the luncheon, please email Stacey at sjherreid@comcast.net

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to either Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, https://www.chop.edu/giving or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, https://stjude.org/donate/.

John’s life was a life well lived. He will be so missed.