Former Fairfax board Chairman Jack Herrity dies

From combined dispatches

John F. “Jack” Herrity, who headed the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors during the development of some of Northern Virginia’s most ambitious highway projects, died of an aortic aneurysm Feb. 1 at a Fairfax hospital. He was 74.

Mr. Herrity died after suffering heart complications, his eldest son, Patrick, told the Associated Press.

Mr. Herrity had a heart transplant 12 years ago and had been in the hospital for about two weeks.

Born in Arlington, Mr. Herrity served on the Board of Supervisors from 1972 to 1988, including 12 years as chairman. He was first elected in November 1971, representing the Springfield District.

“I hope people remember him as the leader he was,” Patrick Herrity said. “He never was a politician. He was a leader first and a politician second. He cared about the county more than anything else.”

During his 12 years as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Mr. Herrity was an advocate for many issues, including transportation, specifically the Fairfax County Parkway, Interstate 66 inside the Beltway and the Dulles Access Road.

In 1995, the Fairfax County Parkway was named in his honor.

Mr. Herrity helped lure Fortune 500 companies, including Mobil Corp., to the county and helped build the Tysons Corner commercial center from a dairy farmland. During this period, the county’s population grew by more than 1,000 people per month.

“Jack Herrity has a place in Fairfax County history,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly. “He was a pivotal figure in the transition of this county from a bedroom community to an economic center in its own right. His tenure on the board saw much controversy about growth and development, but in and out of office, his commitment to the community never wavered.”

Fairfax County Supervisor Elaine McConnell, who has served on the board since 1983, fondly remembered Mr. Herrity’s work in trying to bring employment opportunities to the county and to get the Fairfax County Parkway built.

“I’ve known Jack for a long time. The one thing I can say about him is he loves this county,” Mrs. McConnell told The Washington Times. “Jack was a legend. He was a character, but he did an awful lot for this county.”

Supervisor Michael Frey, who got his first political job working on Mr. Herrity’s staff in 1978, described him as a “tremendous” man.

“He had a vision for this county that, at the time, a lot of people couldn’t see,” Mr. Frey said. He said that his five years working for Mr. Herrity shaped many of the political beliefs he still holds.

“Whatever the problem was, nobody ever left saying Jack didn’t listen. That’s one thing I learned,” he said.

In honor of his many accomplishments for county residents, the board dedicated the county planning and development building in his name in 1994, county officials said.

The Herrity Building, at 12055 Government Center Parkway, houses many agencies, including the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, Department of Planning and Zoning and the Park Authority.

In 1980, Washingtonian magazine named Mr. Herrity “Washingtonian of the Year.”

Before joining the board and after his tenure ended, Mr. Herrity was in the private sector as a pension and insurance consultant, county officials said.

Mr. Herrity’s efforts to improve Fairfax County’s quality of life extended beyond elected office.

He continued his work on transportation issues as chairman of the Beltway Improvement Task Force, chairman of the Interstate Transportation Study Committee and chairman of the Quality of Life Committee for the Tysons Transportation Association, county officials said.

Mr. Herrity was directly involved in many community boards and foundations.

He was founder of the Committee for Transplant Awareness, helping those like himself who had heart transplants. He also was a member of the Northern Virginia Community Foundation and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, county officials said.

In 1999, Gov. James S. Gilmore III appointed him to the Board of Visitors of George Mason University, where he served on the Faculty and Academic Standards and the Finance and Resource Development committees.

Mr. Herrity is survived by his wife, JoAnn Spevacek-Herrity, whom he married on Nov. 13, 2005; five children: Patrick, John, Tom and Tim Herrity and Mary Beth Burger; 20 grandchildren; and two siblings, Bobby Herrity and Diane Winsboro.

His funeral will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Springfield.