Marian Merrill went to be with her Lord and Savior Nov. 22, 2011, one week before her 92nd birthday. She passed away peacefully with her family in attendance at Emerald Heights in Redmond, Wash. She was born on Maui, Hawaii, on Nov. 29, 1919, to Charles and Kathryn Savage, the last of their four children.
Marian, with her mother and sister Kae, moved from Maui to the San Francisco Bay area in November, 1937. She attended junior college and secretarial school and worked in the Hawaii building at the 1939 World’s Fair on Treasure Island.
She met Navy Ensign David Merrill on a blind date on New Year’s Eve, 1941, and after a whirlwind courtship they became engaged two months later, before he left for the war in the Pacific. He returned a lieutenant in December, 1943 and they were married in the Navy Chapel on Treasure Island on Dec. 17. After a brief honeymoon, Dave returned to sea and his naval career while Marian resumed life in San Francisco.
Their five children were born in various locations as they moved about the country: San Francisco, Marilyn (1944) and Greg (1946); Bellingham, Cindy(1949); Carmel Valley, Calif., San Diego and Honolulu, Pam (1953), Norfolk, Va. Lynn (1955), San Diego, Arlington, Va., Yokosuka, Japan, and San Diego where he retired from the Navy as a captain in 1972.
They moved to Whidbey Island, first building a home and settling in Coupeville. In 1986 they moved to Oak Harbor. In 1994 they moved for the last time to the Emerald Heights Retirement Community in Redmond. They enjoyed the musical productions, plays, and various activities in the Seattle area and worldwide traveling for the past 17 years.
Marian was a warm, passionate and soft spoken lady who was always willing to get involved in service organizations and projects wherever she was. She served as a Red Cross volunteer in pediatric clinics in Navy hospitals for 27 years. She was a past member of the Coupeville United Methodist Church, a current member of the Redmond Presbyterian Church, and belonged to the Overlake Service League and P.E.O. She was manager of the volunteer staffed coffee shop at Emerald Heights for ten years, and developed the popular “Emerald Chino.” She led the volunteers that assisted with memorial services for many years. She always lived with the spirit of “Aloha.”
Marian is survived by her husband, David Merrill; daughter Marilyn Freeman of Berkeley, Calif.; son Gregory (Marilou) of Bethesda, Md.; daughters Cynthia of Shoreline, Pamela of Westminster, Colo., and Lynn Dimoff (Jordan) of Purcellville, Va.; as well as six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held in the Emerald Room at Emerald Heights, Redmond, on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The family suggests memorials to the Evergreen Hospice Center, The Center for the Church and Global AIDS, or Redmond Presbyterian Church. Arrangements were entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel in Oak Harbor where friends may go online at www.burleyfuneralchapel.com to sign a guest register.
