Wesley E. Merrill
Obituary
Former Juneau resident Wesley E. Merrill, 72, died Nov. 24, 2003, in Vancouver, Wash., from complications of diabetes.
Merrill was born June 11, 1931, in Kenmare, N.D., the second son of Milo Clarence Merrill and Mabel Deborah Merrill. He grew up in Longview, Wash., and was graduated from the University of Washington School of Business in 1957 following service with the U.S. Army during the war in Korea.
In 1958 he married Page Whitehead, daughter of Juneau physician William M. Whitehead and Dorothy Whitehead. He lived in Juneau from 1961 to 1970. During this time he was an agent with New York Life Insurance Co., an association he continued through 1988 in Oregon, where he and his family settled after leaving Juneau. From 1988 until his death he was a self-employed insurance broker in Oregon and Washington State.
During his years in Juneau he was active in the Chamber of Commerce and the Glacier Valley chapter of the Rotary Club, of which he was a charter member. His family said his biggest pride as a Chamber member was helping to raise initial monies for the Alaska State Museum.
Merrill was a past member of the Monmouth, Ore., Rotary Club, past chairman of the Board of Directors, Western Foundation, Western Oregon State College located in Monmouth, a member of the Oregon State University Presidents' Club, a founder and original board member of the Beaver State Savings and Loan in Monmouth, and Top Club president of New York Life Insurance Co. in 1977-1978. He was a member of the Corvallis, Ore., Elks Club from 1971 to the present.
He and his wife moved to the Vancouver, Wash., area from Monmouth in 1992.
His family said Merrill had particularly enjoyed toward the end of his life working as a volunteer at, and contributing financially to, the upkeep of a small cemetery founded in 1847 and located between Portland and Salem. He wanted it to be maintained as a beautiful place for those buried there, which Merrill will be at a private family graveside service on Dec. 7. "If I'm going to spend the rest of eternity in a cemetery, this is as good as any of them," he recently said.
Merrill is survived by his wife, Page; his children, Thomas William Merrill (Linda); Deborah Helene Stegemeyer (Jim); Catharine Susan Merrill; and John Wesley Merrill (Kaare). Two grandchildren, his older brother, Milo Merrill, and other relatives also survive him. A younger brother, John, preceded him in death, as did his parents.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions may be made to the United Methodist Retirement Center, 1625 Center Street NE, Salem, OR, 97301.