Mervil Duane Bennett

Merv Bennett said, “I want to live a life of ministry.” This was Merv’s greatest desire throughout his remarkable life of seventy-seven years. On Saturday, October 25, 2025, surrounded by his family, Merv peacefully finished his ministry here on Earth and joined a tremendous celebration in heaven. “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21).

Mervil Duane Bennett was born on June 11, 1948, in the small town of Elkhart, Kansas, to Frances and Earl Bennett. He was the youngest of three living sons and one deceased.

Elkhart Church of God, where his uncle, Earl Chestnut was the pastor, is when Merv’s strong relationship with Jesus began. When Merv was seven, his family moved to La Junta, Colorado, where his father became a John Deere dealer. At the La Junta Church of God, Merv said his pastor and his mother greatly encouraged him in music. Merv earned all-state honors as a bass singer and directed music in his junior and senior high school years. Throughout his life he continued to sing, play guitar and piano (although he would say he didn’t play it well), direct the church choir, and lead church worship songs. He was honored to be asked to sing at many weddings and funerals over the years.

In high school, Merv was the manager of the football team and played trombone in the band. He was involved in local and state Church of God youth groups, serving as the state youth president in 1966. Merv was a church camp counselor at Camp Joy for several years during high school. During one of those camp sessions, a stunning red head named Roseanna Sue Turner caught his attention. Roseann was just fifteen when they initially met and she wasn’t quite sure about the skinny, outgoing kid from La Junta. However, he eventually won her over with his charm, sense of humor, and love of God; they started dating a year later.

Merv had a few jobs in high school and during summers in college. He was a grave digger for the cemetery, performed maintenance for the La Junta golf course, and was a local DJ at KBZZ Radio. One night as he was spinning tunes for the Arkansas Valley, he sent out a special dedication of “A Groovy Kind of Love” to Roseann in Pueblo, Colorado.

Merv graduated high school in 1966 and chose to attend the Church of God–affiliated school Anderson College (now University) in Anderson, Indiana. He studied biology, earning a bachelor of arts degree with minors in physical education, music, and education. He was the college’s head athletic trainer all four years he was there, starting the university on an athletic training path that has lasted several decades.

While in college, Merv began his first YMCA job. He was a masseur at the Madison County YMCA in Anderson, Indiana. Upon graduation in 1970, he married Roseann at the Pueblo Church of God in Pueblo, Colorado, on the hot day of August 8, 1970, with no air conditioning. Merv and Roseann lived in Anderson, Indiana, for a short time until he secured a position in 1971 as the health services director at the Greater Elgin Area YMCA in Elgin, Illinois.

Knowing his first child would soon be born, Merv took a chance and sent a letter to the president of the YMCA in Colorado Springs, introducing himself and asking to let him know if a position were to open. As it happened, the Y did need someone a few months later, and Merv and Roseann moved back to Colorado so he could start the job of physical director on September 15, 1972.

Merv was promoted to vice president and COO of the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region in 1979. Later, in 1992, he accepted the position of chief executive officer, a position he held until his retirement in 2011. Over the span of Merv’s forty-year YMCA career, he helped raise millions of dollars for YMCA programs and facilities, partnered with community businesses, organizations, school districts, and neighborhoods, such as the USO and the Armed Services YMCA, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, UCHealth, and so many others. He was a relationship builder who took interpersonal connections very seriously, and he deeply appreciated and respected each one.

Early in his Y career, Merv was the second person in the United States to become a certified exercise technician in advanced cardiac rehabilitation through the America College of Sports Medicine in La Crosse, Wisconsin. As a lifelong learner, Merv attended conferences, programs, and classes to study management skills, interpersonal dynamics, volunteerism, program development, and financial management, to name a few.

Merv was appointed to the Governor’s Health Promotion and Physical Fitness Advisory Council by Governor Lamm in 1981. Merv also served on the North American YMCA Development Organization Council (NAYDO) for many years. He held several leadership seats over that time, including conference chair.

Merv was also a trainer for the YMCA of the USA New CEO Institute. He provided peer perspective to the value of organizational commitment to philanthropy and the role of chief executive officer within the YMCA. For many years. Merv was a proud member of the Colorado Springs Executives Association and The Winter Nights Club. In the few years before his retirement, he was a member of The Redwoods Insurance Group National Advisory Board.

Upon retirement from the Y, Merv prayerfully made the decision to further serve the Colorado Springs community by running for a seat on City Council in 2012. Politics wasn’t something he was particularly comfortable with, but he understood the need for good city leadership and wanted to help. He ran for a second term in 2015 and served as council president and president pro tem, as well as chair of the Colorado Springs Utilities Board of Directors.

Merv’s faith in Christ was always first for him. He was heavily involved in his local church, Vista Grade Church of God, later renamed Ascent Church. He served as a youth leader, church elder, choir director, worship leader, and many other roles. In his younger years, Merv enjoyed playing on the church basketball, volleyball, and softball teams, and hosting friends and church youth at his home for Sunday dinners, BBQs, and get togethers.

His service extended to state and national leadership within the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) as well. He was chairman of the Church of God Colorado Conference from 1987 to 1991; chairman of the Board of Church Extension from 1980 to 1987; chairman of the Kingdom Builders Committee from 1979 to 1987; and director of State Youth from 1976 to 1979.

Merv was a member of the National Task Force on Governance and Policy for the Church of God from 1987 to 1992. He was chairman elect to the Leadership Council of the Church of God, and chairman of the board for the Church of God Reformation Movement. Merv was chairman of the board for Servant Solutions for ten years in the 1990s and early 2000s. During that time, he was a member of the Investment Committee and he chaired the Executive Committee.

Family life was incredibly vital to Merv. During the 1970s, Merv and Roseann welcomed three daughters to their family: Julia, Angela, and Leah. As the ultimate girl dad, Merv took his duties very seriously . . . and sometimes not so seriously. He often joked that even his pets were all female. He loved the attention and welcomed the many cups of unsweet iced tea that were offered to him over the years by one daughter or another. He never had to wonder if his shirt or tie looked right. It was common for him to ask, “Does this tie look okay?” “No, Dad, wear this one instead,” was usually the reply.

Merv taught his daughters how to throw the perfect football spiral, throw and catch a baseball, dribble a basketball—leading to countless games of HORSE on the driveway, play whiffle ball in the back yard, fly a kite so high it eventually orbited the Earth (or so it seemed), color inside the lines, drive a standard transmission, bait a hook, clean a fish (yuck), mow a lawn, safely handle and shoot a shotgun, and shoot arrows (maybe not always as safely as it should’ve been). He made pancakes or waffles on Saturday mornings and joined the cartoon watching, especially if Looney Toons were on with Wile E. Coyote, Foghorn Leghorn, or Yosemite Sam. Sunday afternoons were reserved for Sunday dinner after church, naps, and watching the Bronco game.

As his girls got older, there were life lessons taught around the dinner table; he coached volleyball at Irving Jr. High, Mitchell High School, and a national club volleyball team; camped in the rustic cabins at the Continental Ranch near Creed, Colorado, (a.k.a Dabney’s); and boated on the Colorado reservoirs, water skiing and fishing.

Merv and Roseann sponsored several Air Force Academy cadets once their youngest daughter began attending the Academy. On weekends in the early 2000s, cadets could randomly show up to do their laundry, eat Sunday dinner with the family, play pool in the basement, or crash out on the basement sectional.

As Merv’s daughters graduated college and got married, he enjoyed finally having sons-in-laws, welcoming a more balanced male to female ratio to the family. When the grandchildren were born, though, it added four more girls and one grandson to the mix. Merv loved them all and would do anything for them. He enjoyed attending their volleyball games, track meets, cross country meets, ballet recitals, choir concerts, and plays. He and Roseann enjoyed fifty-five years of marriage and created a family he was enamored with at any given moment.

Merv also loved each of the labrador retrievers he had over the years, and trained them to fetch ducks, pheasant, doves, grouse, geese, and other birds. He loved bird hunting and fishing from the time he was a young boy., including fly fishing the South Platte River near his cabin, ice fishing in the pond at Camp Shady Brook; trolling for Walleye at Lake Pueblo, and stream fishing in the mountains.

For many years, Merv was an avid runner. He ran with his running buddies during lunch breaks from the Y, sometimes being lovingly referred to as “Scooter.” In 1976, he served as charter president for the Pikes Peak Road Runners. And he boldly ran the Pike Peak Ascent twice.

Merv enjoyed reading James Michener novels, grilling burgers brats, pork chops, and the Thanksgiving turkey for friends and family; gardening (so many beets and squash); making award-winning jellies and jams (proudly winning the county and state fairs); spending time at his cabin near Deckers, Colorado; and sharing Twizzlers and other treats with the grandkids. Merv and Roseann also enjoyed travels to many U.S. states, including Alaska, and several countries, including Germany, France, Mexico, Canada, Greece, Uruguay, Dominica, St. Lucia, and others.

Merv once said in a touching YMCA memo to his staff, “Heroes aren’t made, they are born.” He was in awe of a group of Camp Shady Brook counselors who selflessly came together to help children and parents cope with a tragedy that happened at camp. Merv’s desire was that God will stretch us all to grow in love for God and each other. We’ve lost a hero, but Merv’s legacy, lessons, wisdom, and love will live on with many.

Merv was preceded in death by his brother, Larry; his mother, Frances; his father, Earl; his brothers Alfred and Allan; his sister-in-law Nancy (Falconbury) Bennett; and his nephew, Addison. He is survived by his wife, Roseanna, his daughters Julia Wallace (William Stacy Wallace), Angela Merckx (Joshua Merckx), Leah Vanagas (Peter Vanagas); grandchildren Camdyn Wallace, Kayla Merckx, Luke Merkx, Alicia Merckx, and Audra Vanagas. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Nancy (West) Bennett, brother-in-law George Turner (Linda), and many beloved nephews, nieces, and cousins.

Services will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs, 219 E. Bijou St., 80903, on Friday, November 7, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. The family asks that charitable contributions be made to YMCA Camp Shady Brook or Pikes Peak Hospice.

The Bennett family would like to thank all of the friends and family who have come to celebrate Merv's life. We would like to recognize Pikes Peak Hospice (Lea & Eddie), Aberdeen Ridge and the people at ALS United Rocky Mountain for the excellent care they gave to Merv and for the support they gave to our family.