Obituary

Worcester—Richard H. Merritt, 81, of 28 Holden Street, died Wednesday, September 1, 2004, in Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital.

He leaves his wife of 58 years, Beverly J. (Anderson) Merritt; a son, Glenn and his wife, Marie, of Vienna, VA; 2 daughters, Cheryl and her husband, Michael Conety of Worcester; and Julie Merritt of Brockton. A son, Wayne, predeceased him in 2002. He also leaves his grandchildren, Suzanne, Dennis and his wife Joanna, Seth, Sarah and her husband Jamie, & Harry; and great-grandchildren Isabella and Gianni—who will all deeply miss their "Grampy;" a brother, Ralph and his wife, Anne of East Dennis, MA; and many nieces and nephews.

He was born and raised in Worcester, son of Ralph N. S. and Violet (Svenson) Merritt. He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1941 and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1946. Mr. Merritt served in the U.S. Navy during WWII and the Korean War. He was Chief Engineer aboard the destroyer Witek (DD-848) from 1951-1952. Mr. Merritt was a mechanical engineer with Norton Company from 1946-1962 and a senior project engineer with Bay State Abrasives, Westboro from 1962 until his retirement in 1989. He was a former director of the National Society of Professional Engineers. He was a 50-year member of Guiding Lights Lodge. He was deeply devoted to his wife and family and enjoyed sailing, golf, and time on Cape Cod.

The funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Salem Covenant Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Richard Merritt Memorial Fund, c/o Salem Covenant Church, 215 E. Mountain St. Worcester, MA 01606. Nordgren Memorial Chapel, 300 Lincoln St. is directing arrangements.