TOPSAIL BEACH — Benjamin (“Benny”) Earl Herring, Jr. of Topsail Beach, NC died on June 18, 2024 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. He was 76 years old.
Benny was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin Earl Herring, Sr., and Marie Outland Herring of Goldsboro, infant sister June Marie, and infant brother Robert Lyn.
He is survived by his brother, Brian Lee Herring (Roger Adkins) of Raleigh, NC. He was deeply loved as “Papa Benny” by both Chris Gurley of Mount Olive and his daughter, Aynslee.
Benny’s life was filled with pursuits of the things that he was most passionate about. In addition to his fulltime job, Benny was a concert sound engineer for numerous bands, including the Goldsboro-based band, Hot August. He enjoyed photography and produced many incredible photographs of the bands he worked with and that he got to see in performance. Benny loved music, especially rock and blues artists like the Allman Brothers Band and Eric Clapton. Following his band days, he did sound production for a recording studio in Goldsboro.
After a long career at Data General in test engineering and field service, he moved to Topsail Beach and formed his own business, Capt. Benny’s Web Design and Consulting. He provided computer support for customers and municipalities along the coast of North Carolina.
Benny was a co-developer of Maps Unique GPS Utility System, a PC-based waypoint management application that allowed fishers to create, print, and store locations of coastal water charts and waypoints in conjunction with their GPS systems. Benny was an avid fisherman himself, winning many awards in fishing tournaments in the Topsail Island/Wilmington area, and he loved to take friends and family on fishing trips on his boat, Layla II.
He was a volunteer for the Topsail Beach Fire Department.
A celebration of his life will be held on Topsail Island at a later date.
Memorials may be made to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
