And the original Texas triangle of destinations on that cocktail napkin remains at the heart of nearly 90 US destinations served by what is the now largest airline in the United States. Through decades of challenges and growth, Herb's infectious personality motivated the airline's Employees to build Brand loyalty in Customers that bolstered one of the world's most admired companies with decades of consistent profitability. He oversaw and personally fought numerous legal battles instigated by competitors who tried to ground the very idea of Southwest Airlines before its first flights took off in 1971 with a fleet of just three airplanes. Hundreds of millions of Americans likely owe their first flight to the era of affordable air travel that Herb and Rollin King helped launch in the late 1960s on a cocktail napkin in a San Antonio hotel bar. He took that work ethic with him when he moved to Joan's home state of Texas, a place that he grew to love and cherish. Herb was a self-made man, putting himself through school with scholarships and his unparalleled work ethic. Following graduation, Herb and Joan married and lived in New York while Herb attended law school at New York University, where he was a Root-Tilden Scholar. While at Wesleyan, Herb served as the president of the student body and excelled in numerous sports, and it was there that he met and fell in love with Joan Negley, who was attending Connecticut College at the time. He earned a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University where he was an Olin Scholar, majoring in English, with a minor in philosophy. Herbert David Kelleher was born March 12, 1931, in Camden, New Jersey, and was reared in nearby Audubon, New Jersey, where he graduated from Haddon Heights High School. Herb Kelleher, the fun-loving and wickedly witty Founder, Chairman Emeritus, and former CEO of Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co., died Thursday, January 3, 2019.
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