StC News
Tribute to Robert Williams "Bob" Herzog
February 10, 2017
Upper School Chapel
Tribute to Bob Herzog
It is a daunting challenge to pay tribute to a man that you never met. But that is precisely what I will endeavor to do this morning, out of respect for the numerous contributions to St. Christopher’s, to the state of Virginia, and to our country, made by Mr. Robert Williams Herzog, longtime independent and public school educator, World War II veteran, founder of the VA Prep League and innovator of so many forward-looking programs that we benefit from at St. Christopher’s today.
Gentlemen, I believe deeply in the concept of stewardship, of being a steward, which is to care for one’s family, one’s school, one’s church, if so affiliated, for one’s professional organization, one’s state, country, and world.
To be a steward is also to be a temporary tenant in some place, some entity larger than oneself. To be a steward is to recognize that, alone or even collectively, we are not owners of our institution of affiliation. For example, St. Christopher’s is not mine; it is not yours or your parents’; it did not belong to Mr. Herzog, though he loved and served it deeply.
Institutions and organizations belong to all of us, they belong to generations, and our charge is to love and tend to them during our period of temporary occupancy until it is time to pass that occupancy on to others. That is stewardship, gentlemen, and I believe Mr. Herzog understood and valued that concept.
Mr. Herzog also knew that our time, on earth and in any one place, is fleeting, finite. We do well to recognize that immutable fact of our temporality, our mortality, to accept it, and to frame our very existence and approach to living around it.
Mr. Herzog, I strongly suspect, understood temporality—the state of being temporary—and thus he squeezed a lifetime full of memories, activities, and contributions into his 93 years of life on this earth.
Let me tell you just a few things that I now know about Bob Herzog, who passed away on January 11 at his farm in Beaverdam, about 35 miles northwest of us here, in Hanover County.
When I finish sharing just some of what I have learned about this great man and the many ways he strengthened not only St. Christopher’s but the many communities he touched throughout his life, I will ask anyone in this Chapel who knew him, as a family member, friend, or colleague, to stand and share any remembrance or statement of impact they wish to offer.
Mr. Herzog grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Ridgefield High School in June 1941. Just 6 months later, in the wake of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving our country with honor throughout WWII.
Mr. Herzog later attended Randolph-Macon College, where he excelled as both a football and basketball player.
At Mr. Herzog’s funeral last month, his son, Andy, St. Christopher’s Class of 1972, told a story of a chance encounter in which Mr. Herzog happened into the home of the great football coach Vince Lombardi. Mr. Herzog noticed Vince Lombardi’s vast collection of books in his home library, with an emphasis on the classics, which Andy said lit a fire in his father to become extremely well read, well spoken, and grammatically precise. Many of us here can admire those traits, especially in an educator.
Mr. Herzog joined the St. Christopher’s community in the fall of 1962, when he started as our varsity football coach and English teacher. This photo is taken about a year into Mr. Herzog’s tenure, in 1963, and in it you likely recognize several of the gentlemen featured in this photo—some are here with us in Chapel today.
Starting from the left is teacher and coach Mr. Jim Haws, then second from the left is longtime athletic director, teacher, and coach Mr. Dick Kemper, then moving to our right is longtime headmaster Mr. George McVey, then Mr. Bob Herzog in the center, then longtime math teacher and coach Mr. Rives Hardy, then longtime business manager Mr. Jack Bolling, and 50-year math teacher and coach Mr. Jim Boyd—quite an all-star teaching and coaching staff assembled there in 1963.
Before coming to St. Christopher’s, Mr. Herzog had already served several other area schools, including Norfolk Academy and Hampton Roads Academy, where he had served as the founding headmaster.
In addition to coaching our varsity football team for nearly 10 years, Mr. Herzog held the following positions at St. Christopher’s—Teacher, Advisor, Business Manager, Director of Athletics, Director of Guidance, and Associate Headmaster.
When he retired from the School in 1990, remarkably, he held the positions of both Director of Guidance (that’s what we call College Counseling today) and Director of Athletics. That would be like Mr. Jump and Mr. O’Ferrall having the same job…simultaneously… Astounding.
Among many other accomplishments, Mr. Herzog created our Public Speaking class, which continues mightily to this day. As Associate Headmaster, Mr. Herzog helped to institute the Faculty Advisory system, again which continues mightily to this day. He also helped to develop the concept of permitting boys to fulfill their after-school activities by participating in the arts or other non-athletic activities. While a common concept to us today, this was novel 40 years ago, and quite wonderful that the growth of the arts at St. Christopher’s was in part spearheaded by the man whose very job was to oversee the athletics program.
Mr. Herzog’s contributions extended well beyond the boundaries of St. Christopher’s Road. He is remembered as the Founding Father of the Virginia Prep League, the group of select Virginia independent schools who for decades have engaged in good-spirited competition across this state.
He helped to create the Director’s Cup, the annual competition among schools in the Prep League to determine which school has the strongest overall athletic program, measured by allocating equal weight to the success of all sports teams, not just a select few.
But above all these things, Mr. Herzog was a deeply pious man, a man of faith, and a man in a deep relationship with God, which I suspect informed a certain sense of both urgency and humility to his work on this earth—Mr. Herzog knew his time was limited and he had to get to work, and he knew that all he did was for the good of humankind and for boys such as you, but ultimately it was for the grace and glory of God.
When Mr. Herzog retired from St. Christopher’s after 28 years of service, he left this school, and this state, far better than when he found it. What a simple, but profound, lesson of service and stewardship for all us all to emulate.
I would ask all of you, gentlemen, what will you do today, tomorrow, and in the months and years to come, to leave this place better than you find it today?
While we ponder that very question, at this time I would like to invite any colleagues, friends, or family members of Mr. Herzog to please stand where you are and share any remembrances or statements of impact from the life and work of Mr. Herzog.
After a few moments of reflections, I will conclude our service with a prayer in Mr. Herzog’s memory.
Please join first in a prayer for Mr. Robert Herzog, followed by our reading of the St. Christopher’s School Prayer.
Dear God, we offer our thanks to you today for the life and example of your servant, Robert Herzog, for the impact he left on his family, his schools, and his community, and for the noble manner in which he served you and others in stewardship.
Help us to lift up his example in our own lives, choosing a life worth living, a life for others, and grant your grace and countenance to the Herzog Family, as they honor and remember their beloved father. In your most holy name we pray, Amen.
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