Ralph Merrill

    Ralph Merrill, 89, of Linden died on Friday, July 4, 2008, at the RTA Hospice and Palliative Care in Lakeside from causes incident to his age. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 o’clock tonight (July 9) at Owens Mortuary-White Mountain Chapel, located at 320 N. Ninth Street in Show Low. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, at the Show Low Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 1401 W. Deuce of Clubs, (where Highway 260 meets Highway 60) in Show Low, Arizona, with an additional visitation one hour prior. Interment will follow at the Show Low Cemetery, where military honors will be rendered.
   Ralph was born on April 14, 1919, in Pima, Arizona to Gerald and Sara Lorena (Taylor) Merrill. He received his education in the Gila Valley, where he graduated from high school. As a teenager he began a career in boxing to help support his family.
   On May 21, 1937, at the age of 18, Ralph was married to Myrna Pearce in the Mesa Temple of the LDS church. They most recently celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary.
   As a newlywed, Ralph worked for the Tovrea Meat Packing Company in Phoenix for about five years. He then went to work as a truck driver for the Southwestern Freight Company.
   In 1944, after seven years of marriage, Ralph was drafted into the U.S. Navy and spent his service as an entertainer, boxing in the middleweight class, while stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and later in Guam.
   Immediately after receiving his honorable discharge from the Navy, Ralph resumed his career as a truck driver for Southwestern Freight Company, which later sold to T.I.M.E.-D.C. He continued to work there for an additional 36 years before retiring in 1981. During his long truck-driving career, he drove well over three million miles. He was a member of the Teamsters Union Local No. 104.
   After his retirement he and his wife, Myrna, served a proselyting mission for the LDS Church in Port-land, Ore., specifically catering to the needs of the Asian speaking people. It was a time they have always cherished. They enjoyed giving of their time in service to others and spent countless hours working at the Snowflake Cannery of the church. They also served as temple workers in the Mesa Temple for five years.
   Ralph loved to be in the great out-of-doors, and especially enjoyed hunting and camping. He was a true family man, and was an example of goodness to all who called him son, husband, dad, grandpa and brother.
   Survivors include his wife, Myrna Merrill of Linden; his children, Jean Lee of Lakeside, Merlene Eberly (Rick) of Linden, R. Keith Merrill (Darlene) of Snowflake, Lucinda “Cindy“ Brown (Dudley) of Logandale, Nev., Lavar Merrill (Brenda) of Linden, and son-in-law, Sam Duncan of Linden; his twin sister, LaRee Thomas of Zeniff; 37 grandchildren; 71 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-granddaughter.
    He was preceded in death by his daughter, Joan Duncan in 2002; his son-in-law, Floyd Lee in 2004; his parents; seven siblings, Madge Johnson, Jerald Merrill, Glenn “Rusty” Merrill, Loren Merrill, Lorena Peck, Arnold Merrill and Alden “Pete” Merrill; four grandchildren, Ralph Merrill in 1989, Shelley Spicer in 2001, Randy Hatch in 1981, Ryan Hatch in 1993; and a great-grandson, Bo Henry in 2001.