Mr. Ercle F. Herbert Jr., 93, of Schooner Bay, Onancock, died Sunday, March 2, 2025, at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital. Born June 6, 1931, in Washington, D.C., he was the only child of the late Ercle F. Herbert Sr. and Helen Stevens Herbert.
Ercle graduated from St. John’s College Military Academy and then spent a year at Billis School, a prep school for the Naval Academy. Soon- to-be President Gerry Ford attended a football game and took notice of Ercle’s talents on the field. Mr. Ford, a former University of Michigan All-American football player, invited Ercle to his office and suggested he attend his alma mater.
Having won the Washington Metro Area Golf Championship, Ercle considered a career as a golf pro but soon changed his mind. Following graduation from Michigan, he took over the family business, Herbert and Herbert, a property and casualty insurance firm.
In his early twenties, Ercle purchased 800 acres in western Maryland and built a log cabin. He sold his property in western Maryland and bought a home in Queenstown, Md., from which he commuted to Washington, D.C., a trip of 55 miles, for eight years. From there he bought a 200-acre property in Cashville, where he and his wife, Jane, built a home and lived for 50 years until moving to Schooner Bay.
Ercle defined himself as having and actively using a boat and there were few places he would have rather been than on the open water. His greatest passions were hunting and fishing, and he especially looked forward to throwing lines on the Chesapeake Bay, offshore fishing trips, and hunting waterfowl. He spent a year or two in the early 1970s in Palm Beach, Fla., behind the helm of the “Chaos IV.”
He was grateful for the many friendships made over the years and greatly enjoyed the company of fellow fishermen, hunters, and their families.
While most ‘wintered’ in Florida, Ercle and his wife, Jane, spent summers in the Keys and fished every day. Ercle and Jane were also members of the Ocean City Light Tackle Club, or OCLTC, active from the early 1970s to this past year. In 1974 Ercle chaired the first OCLTC tournament in Cozumel, Mexico, and it was the first such tournament where most members brought their children.
Ercle was a member of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Onley and the Eastern Shore Yacht and Country Club.
In addition to his parents, Ercle was predeceased by his wife of 52 years, Jane Herbert. He is survived by his sons, Ercle F. Herbert III, of Las Vegas, and John Lawrence Herbert, of Richmond, Maine, both born to his first wife, Katharine, who died in the 1980s.
A memorial mass will be held at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church and will be announced when scheduled.
Memory tributes may be shared with the family at
www.williamsfuneralhomes.com
Arrangements are by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.
