Fred L. Merrill

Fred Leon Merrill of Mission Hills, Kansas, entered into eternal peace on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. The memorial service will be held at 3:00 in the afternoon on Friday, October 23 at Country Club Christian Church. All friends and family are invited to a reception at Carriage Club directly following the service.

Fred was born in Kansas City, Missouri on August 8, 1924. He graduated from Southwest High School and continued on to receive a degree in milling administration from his beloved Kansas State University. Flour milling was Fred’s passion and life. He began his milling career with Wichita Flour Mills as Manager of the Grain Department. He left Wichita in 1965 to join ADM Milling Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, becoming President of ADM Milling.

Fred Merrill established Cereal Food Processors in 1972 with the acquisition of a single mill in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew the company to 12 mills and the company soon became the nation’s largest independent and fourth largest flour milling company. Fred built his company by acquiring strategically located plants that fit with his strategy of building a business that would be the premier supplier of flour to the nation’s major baking companies.

Having grown up in the milling business with his father as a leading executive, Fred has been a loyal and committed alumnus of Kansas State University throughout his career, serving as chairman of the university’s Foundation. He was also chairman of the North American Millers’ Association, the Crop Quality Council and the Kansas Wheat Improvement Association.

Fred served in the Army in World War II. He was married to Virginia May Urban, whom he called “Ginny” on August 1, 1948, honeymooned in Estes Park, Colorado and rarely missed a summer trip there during the next 67 years.

An active participant in the life of Kansas City, Fred was a trustee of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the American Royal. He was elder and past chairman of Country Club Christian Church. He also was founder and chairman of Mission Hills Bank and served on the board of Fourth Financial Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. He also served on the board of the Kansas Nature Conservancy.

Far and above his accomplishments in the flour milling industry and the community, he was loved as a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and friend to many. In the words of Billy Graham, “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” That is Fred Merrill’s legacy. We loved him dearly.

Fred is preceded in death by father, Elmo Merrill and mother, Bernice Merrill. He is survived by his loving wife Virginia, daughter, Melanie Thompson, son-in-law, Wayne Thompson, son Fred Merrill, Jr., daughter-in-law Candy Merrill, daughter Melinda Merrill, daughter Merrie Costello, son-in-law David Costello and sister Jeane Rhule. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren who loved him and called him Papa.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kansas State University Endowment Association and the Music Department of Country Club Christian Church, 6101 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri 64113 .

The family wishes to thank Fred’s faithful companions Ron Cross, Perry Cockayne and Dix Moser and a loving and capable caregiving team Shirley Bates, Eunice Kamau, Robin Walker, Cinda Waters, Remi Miller, Barbara Lewis, Nikki Castleberry and Tamara Pegues. Special thanks to the wonderful St. Luke’s Hospice team including Donna Pisciotta, Shelly Suwareh, Kim Morse and Ben Larson.