Thomas Kirby Herrick

Thomas Kirby Herrick, TK to his siblings and etched into his prized tools, always had time for you. He made you feel like you belonged, were in on the joke, were welcome to join the fun. As Maya Angelou said “…people will never forget how you made them feel.” He practiced with ease what it meant to show up for others.

Tom, of Fitchburg, died on July 15, 2022 following a battle with cancer. The son of John and Lillian (May) Herrick he was a graduate of Lunenburg High School and served in the National Guard.

He married his devoted wife, Cynthia (Denault) in 1966 and they shared 56 years building their life.  Together they raised two children and grandparented five more. He will be lovingly remembered by his son Patrick Herrick and his daughter Pamela Herrick and her husband Michael Reynolds and their children; Kayleigh and her wife Talia, Lillian, Cecilia, Edward and Thomas.

He is also survived by his brother Jim and his wife Anita, sister Barbara Beloin and her husband Jerry, brother John Jr. (Dinty), brother Brian and his wife Susan, sister Kathy, sister-in-law Kathy married to brother Mickey (deceased), sister Deborah and her husband Leonard (Chris), sister-in-law Kathy Cowen and her husband Sheldon, sister-in-law Paula Sell and her husband Donald as well as generations of nieces and nephews.

Like his father and grandfather before him, he was a railroader. His work uniform, once dictated by the requirements of being a conductor for Amtrak’s passenger service ended with the Carhartts of a man much comfortable with machinery. In his 45 railroad years, spanning freight to passenger service, the B & M (Boston and Maine) to Amtrak, he went from working the yard to driving the train as an engineer, and on into retirement leaving behind the trainmens room at the North Station, affectionately named for him and the many hands of fellowship shared around the card table.

There wasn’t much TK wouldn’t tinker with or try to learn about. Autodidactic, perennially curious and mechanical all his life, he used his empire of tools, trucks and tricks to build, repair, restore what you brought to him. His most extraordinary tool was his generous heart which he wore in his hands, never on his sleeve. 

A celebration of his life will be held at Richard Funeral Home of Leominster on Saturday September 3, 2022 from 5 – 7 pm.

In lieu of flowers go fix a broken thing.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Thomas Kirby Herrick, please visit our floral store.