FARMINGTON – W. Merritt Emerson Jr., 87, a longtime resident of Farmington Falls, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, three days shy of his 88th birthday, at Edgewood Manor Rehabilitation and Living Center, after a long life dedicated to public service. Merritt was born Dec. 10, 1921, in Bangor, the only child of Dr. W. Merritt and Helen (Hanlon) Emerson. His childhood was spent in Bangor and his early education was in the Bangor schools and at the side of his physician father, where he learned service to others. As a teenager, he served as a volunteer Bangor firefighter at the State Street fire station, two blocks from his home. After graduation from Bangor High School in 1940, Merritt studied at the University of Vermont and Colby College, where he met his future wife of 65 years, Ethel (Paradis) Emerson, who died in 2007. Enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor, he served as an aircraft gunner and gunnery instructor during World War II. Returning to Bangor after the war with his bride, he entered the University of Maine, Orono, on the G.I. Bill. After graduation, he taught in the high schools of Corinna, Castine, Stratton and Jay, serving the last two schools as principal. In 1968, the yearbook “Breezes” at Jay High School was dedicated in his name. During the summers he worked as the projectionist at Jay Hill Drive-In. In 1968, Merritt left Jay High School and joined Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, where he served for 25 years as a full and part-time deputy sheriff. He was later appointed postmaster of Farmington Falls Post Office, retiring in 1991. While serving on the board of directors of Tri-County Mental Health Services, he and his wife, Ethel, were the founding members of the Farmington chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness. Merritt and Ethel are survived by two children, Sanford Emerson and his wife, Kathy, of East Dixfield, and Elaine Smith and her husband, Kenneth, of Livermore Falls; two grandchildren, Scotti Smith and his wife, Tiffany, of Auburn, and Amie Smith of Livermore Falls; and a great-granddaughter Catherine J. Smith. He was predeceased by a son, Gene Emerson, who passed away in 1992 after a long struggle with schizophrenia. At Merritt’s request, there will be no funeral services. Well wishers are urged to make a donation to NAMI of Maine, 1 Bangor St., Augusta, ME 04330 or www.namimaine.org. Arrangements by Finley Funeral Home, 15 Church St., Livermore Falls. Messages of condolence may be sent to www.finleyfuneralhome.com.
W. MERRITT EMERSON JR.
