JONESPORT – Shirley G. Merritt, Jr., 57, died Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at Down East Community Hos-pital. His battle with Agent Orange related cancers began in 1995. He was born May 1, 1946, in Jonesport, the second child and oldest son of Shirley G. and Lorna (Urquhart) Merritt. Shirley was also known as “Pack,” a nickname given to him in kindergarten by his childhood friends. Pack graduated from Jonesport High School in 1966, and was a proud member of that year’s Class “S” State boy’s basketball team, the Jonesport Seahawks. He played forward. Pack joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in 1965, and left for boot camp in August 1967. He served as an MP before reporting for duty in the Republic of Vietnam with the 1st Marine Division 3rd Battalion. He received the Purple Heart and 12 other commendations during his seven-year military service. He married Phyllis Marie Woodward in 1969. After his discharge in 1973, they moved home to Jonesport, where he worked for the former Woodward Oil Co., Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Jonesport Police Department, Gray’s Shellfish, and as a self-employed worm-digger. Since 1992, he spent many enjoyable hours painting houses. Pack’s greatest pleasures were his family and his friends. He wants Myra to remember “I’m goin’ to turn you into a fwog” and Kate to remember “Fwee two, fwee two.” He loved nothing better than to take a ride up street and check in with his buddies at Stewart’s, Main Street Auto and Stanhope’s, and get strawberries at the Jonesport Emporium. He loved fishing and hunting, and he looked forward to spending much of November at his brother’s camp on Crowley’s Island. He enjoyed working on his computer, and was proud to have researched his family’s ancestry. He wanted to leave a legacy for those that will follow him. He was predeceased by his dad. Surviving in addition to his wife, Phyllis; are his daughters, Myra Kathleen Merritt of Machias, and Kate Lorraine Merritt Deporter and her husband, Troy, of Berwick; his granddaughters, Nancy Jane and Heather Marie Farren of Machias; his mother, Lorna Merritt; his sisters, Julia MacLean and her husband, Vincent, Evelyn Alley, Arlene Smith and her husband, Dwight, Cathy Merritt, and Florence Leighton and her fianc‚, Denny Farnsworth; his brothers, Alberton and his wife, Carla, and Sheldon, all of Jonesport; numerous nieces and nephews; Phyllis’s family; and many dear friends. Pack wanted to be cremated, and since he was not one for a lot of fuss, he didn’t want official services. If you’d like to join his family and friends for a time of fellowship in his memory, there will be calling hours 4-6 p.m. Thursday, March 4, 2004, in the vestry of the Sawyer Memorial Congregational Church. (Please bring a story you’d like to share with Phyllis and his daughters, and place it in his memorial basket.) In lieu of flowers and memorial contributions, at Pack’s request, please “call your kids and tell ’em how much you love ’em.” A memorial register is available online at Legacy.com. Arrangements are in the care of Bragdon-Kelley-Campbell Funeral Home, Machias.
SHIRLEY G. MERRITT
