Mary Lee Sowders Herrington

Mary Lee Sowders Herrington, B.A. ’48, M.S. ’53, Ed.D. ’67, passed away on Aug. 30, 2024, in Fort Worth. She had just celebrated her 97th birthday. 

Herrington was born in Mexia, Texas, on Aug. 27, 1927, to Merle Edwin Sowders and Eunice Strickland Sowders. She received her B.A. in 1948 from Baylor, and she began a lifelong career of teaching fifth grade at Elder Elementary School. Then, she spent four summers at Baylor to complete a master’s degree in elementary education. She taught for 41 years and helped many students along the way.

She was introduced to William B. (Bill) Herrington at a faculty meeting in the Fall of 1954. Their first date was Sept. 19, 1954, and they were married Dec. 19, 1954. They were married 54 years before his passing in 2009.

In 1961, Mary Lee and Bill moved to Corsicana, Texas, to teach at Navarro Junior College. They had a desire to further their education, and, for the next seven years while working at Navarro, they drove one night a week to Waco to attend classes at Baylor. In 1968, they were the first married couple to be awarded doctorate degrees from Baylor at the same time.

They both taught in Baylor’s Department of Education for 21 years and retired in 1989. The Herringtons “paid forward” everything they gained through their relationship with Baylor by establishing the Sowders-Herrington Endowed School of Education Scholarship Fund.

After retirement, they spent many hours at their farm in Mount Calm where Mary Lee enjoyed learning to drive a tractor and helping Bill raise Black Angus cattle. They took pride in their involvement with FFA, for which they provided heifers for the youth to show.

In 2015, Herrington moved from Waco to The Westmore Senior Living Center in Fort Worth to be closer to family. Church and her faith were always an important part of her life, and she was an active member of The Walk Church, which brings weekly worship and Bible studies to retirement centers.