HAMPDEN – Thornton W. Merriam Jr. 83, died peacefully April 28, 2013, at home surrounded by his family. He was born Dec. 30, 1929, in Cleveland, the son of Thornton Ward Merriam and Alice Halcyon (Heston) Merriam.
He graduated from Colby College with a bachelor’s degree in 1951 and received his doctorate from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1955. Dr. Merriam served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corp. in Camp LeJune, N.C. He was board certified from American Board of Internal Medicine and with American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Merriam began a private medical practice in 1962 and served as an attending physician at Eastern Maine Medical Center, EMCC, and St. Joseph Hospital. He served as chief of medical services at St. Joseph Hospital, president of the medical staff at EMMC, a member of the board of directors of Eastern Maine Healthcare and a member of the advisory committee to Bangor District Nursing Association. In 1992 he served as medical director of the chemical dependency program at Acadia Hospital. He retired at 82. He had a wonderful sense of humor, a beautiful voice and a passion for the outdoors. He was a devoted physician and adored his family. He was a member of Barbershop Quartet, S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A., Spontaneous Jazz Ensemble and Buddhist Affinity of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Bangor.
Surviving is his wife, Mary Phillips of Hampden; children, Lucinda Leveille of Arlington, Mass., Dave Merriam of Elmore, Vt., Nan Thompson of Framingham, Mass., Liz Kyle of Narragansett, R.I., and Jane Spina of Warren, Vt.; eight grandchildren, Alice and Sawyer Thompson, Anna and Emma Kyle, Lucy and Hannah Merriam and Vincent and Libby Spina; sister, Nancy Andrew; nephew, Mark Andrew, both of Gloucester, Mass.; the mother of his children, Elizabeth Smart Merriam of Contookcook, N.H., daughters of Mary Phillips, Eugenie Hopkins, Christine Bowman and Bridget Stanton, and their many children and grandchildren.
Relatives and friends are invited to a memorial gathering and refreshments, 5-8 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Family Reception Center of Brookings-Smith, 163 Center St., Bangor. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in his memory to Hospice of St. Joseph, Attention: Nicole Heanssler, P.O. Box 1638, Bangor, ME 04402-1638, or Harmony Foundation International Inc, 110 Seventy Ave. North, Suite 200, Nashville, TN, 37203. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com.
Thornton Ward Merriam Jr., MD
