HANCOCK – Elizabeth “Betty Ann” S. Merrill passed on to a place “More Perfect”…”More Divine,” Jan. 12, 2007, with all of her family by her side. She fought a courageous eight-year battle with cancer. Born Sept. 24, 1930, she was the daughter of the late Robert T. and Edna Clark Smith. She was reared and educated in Ellsworth, was a graduate of Ellsworth High School and successfully completed one year at the University of Maine/Eastern Maine General Hospital degree nursing program. Her life was made special by her love of family and her compassion for others. While living in Hampden, and later in Brewer, she served as a den mother for the Cub Scouts and a Scout leader for the Brownie Scouts. She spent over 3,000 volunteer hours at Eastern Maine Healthcare Center and over 1,200 hours at the Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth. She also served as chair of the Brewer Congregational Church board of trustees. Betty Ann was her husband’s inspiration, biggest supporter and an important part of his life, as a teacher, coach and college administrator. She hosted an annual faculty wives tea, in her Brewer home, enjoyed entertaining student leaders for special dinners and founded with her husband, the annual Husson Christmas party, to link the college with the Bangor community. She received the Husson Alumni Association Outstanding Service Award in 1986. She was a member of the Ellsworth Congregational Church and a loyal volunteer at the Maine Coast Memorial Hospital. Betty Ann is survived by her beloved husband of 57 years, Delmont N. Merrill; her three adoring children, Colleen and husband, Jim Russell, of Eddington, Linda and her husband, Robert Sparks, of Holden and Robert and his wife, Susan, of Ellsworth; her precious grandchildren, Kevin McPherson and his wife, Kristen, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., Brian McPherson and his wife, Courtney, of Ashburn, Va., Kimberly Grover and her husband, Lee, of Holden, Lindsey and Corey Sparks of Holden; stepgrandson, Jarrod Leyendecker of Bar Harbor; and her three great-grandchildren, Calahan and Camden McPherson of California and Lee Jacob Grover of Holden; an Aunt Norma Beal of Ellsworth, and several nieces and nephews. Friends may visit with the family 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, at Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St., Ellsworth, where services will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, with the Rev. Bob Carlson, longtime friend of the family and former chaplain at Husson College, presiding. Interment will be at Woodbine Cemetery, Ellsworth. Betty Ann loved flowers, however, those who wish may donate in her memory to one of the following, Mary Dow Center, care of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, 50 Union St., Ellsworth, ME 04605, Del & Betty Student Scholarship Fund at Husson College, 1 College Circle, Bangor, ME 04401 or the First Congregational Church of Ellsworth, P.O. Box 12, Ellsworth, ME 04605. Condolences may be sent to www.jordanfernald.com
ELIZABETH ‘BETTY ANN’ MERRILL
