Thomas (Tom) King Herget died on Feb. 28 after a short but fierce battle with cancer.

He enjoyed life, from his family and many friends to myriad business and real estate investments past and present. More than anything else he loved people and had wonderful relationships with close friends and business acquaintances near his previous home in the mountains of New Hampshire and his current residences in North Hampton, N.H., Wailea Point, Maui, Hawaii, and Martha’s Vineyard, where he owned homes in Chilmark and West Tisbury. He loved spending time on the Vineyard, spending many summers there before building his own home in Chilmark in 2001.

Tom was born in 1943 and raised in the Berkeley Hills of California long before “the hills” were well-known. His childhood home was the third house built on the hill and overlooked San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, followed by an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University in Chicago. There he met the love of his life, Bonnie Joan Kitchen, aka Makena Herget.

Married in 1969, the Hergets took a chance and exited from corporate life with Kaiser Chemicals in Oakland, Calif. and Cranford, N.J. to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to raise a family. Tom and Makena took another risky move and bought a farmhouse dating from 1825 which had no electricity or running water and was sited on 110 acres. Over 30 years, they raised three kids in Tamworth, N.H. where they enjoyed living on the gentleman’s farm raising animals, tending gardens and enjoying life surrounded by the lakes and mountains. Tom purchased Chick Lumber in North Conway, N.H., later to become Chick Home Center, a premier home building and design center in the Northern New Hampshire, Portland and Coast of Maine regions. After 39 years, the business was sold in 2013 with plans for other entrepreneurial ventures and to get back to traveling more.

Tom and Makena were fortunate to have traveled extensively throughout the world and they loved to visit new and exotic places. Their adventures began on their 1969 honeymoon in Colombia, spent on the Amazon and in Bogota. They visited 119 countries on every continent and looked forward to the next trip before returning from the last.

The past few years have proven to be very busy and exciting with the formation of Herget Development Company and Makena Herget Interiors. They invested in many real estate projects all over the U.S., started a luxury vacation rental business, and attended many meetups with like-minded friends from all over the world.

He is survived by his 103-year-old mother, Edith Herget of Walnut Creek, Calif.; his loving wife of 47 years, Makena Bonnie Herget; and his three children, daughter Amanda Serna and her husband Albert of Truckee Calif., son Brad and his wife Emily of Brighton, and son Tanner of Portsmouth, N.H. Tom also leaves behind three grandchildren who adore Gramps: Tavin, age 7, Damian, age 4, and Devon, age 3.

Tom’s amazing sense of humor, warm smile and hearty laugh will always be remembered by those that knew and loved him. In keeping with Tom’s love of a great party, the family will host a celebration of Tom’s life in July 2017 in North Hampton, N.H. for all friends and family who would like to join in honoring Tom. Please visit TomHerget.com for additional information.

Tom spent his final days at Hyder Family Hospice House in Dover, N.H., which provided the utmost warmth and compassion. Donations can be made in memory of Tom, payable to Friends of Hyder Family Hospice House, 285 County Farm Road, Dover, NH 03820 or friendsofhyderfamilyhospicehouse.org/donate/