Services will be held Friday, Sept 17, 2021 10 am at shelter #8, Philippe Park, 2525 Philippe Parkway, Safety Harbor, FL
Merritt was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 2, 1954, and later moved to Miami with his family as a young boy. He attended Hialeah High School and was the starting quarterback on the football team. Upon graduation in 1972, Merritt attended Valdosta (Georgia) State College and completed a Bachelor of Arts in accounting.
At Valdosta State, Merritt was a cheerleader for the Blazers’ basketball team and was very active in his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE). In 1976, he met his future wife Kris Dahl on a blind date to the Red Carnation TKE Ball. He and Kris were married on June 18, 1977.
Merritt and Kris started their life together in Valdosta, where Merritt began work as an accountant. After a year he transitioned to work as a night manager at Roadway Express, a major U.S. motor freight carrier company. Merritt’s strong work ethic helped him rise to the position of national sales representative, and he was awarded the Vice President’s Ring as the company’s best salesman. He continued to work for Roadway until 2008, when he began his own logistics company, Six G LTE.
In 1993, Kris and Merritt settled in Clearwater, Florida, with sons, Matt, Cameron, Tyler, and Jarred. Raising four active boys (along with an untold number of reptiles and various other pets) required consistent guidance and direction. Merritt was up to the challenge and eventually came to be known only as “The Merritt.” He was actively involved in his sons’ lives, particularly as a coach for their many baseball and soccer teams. He usually had a rulebook in his back pocket, and to umpires’ and referees’ dismay, could recite those rules to the letter.
When his eldest son Matt was 14 years old, the two attended a class in order to become a soccer referee (likely after Merritt got angry with a referee and decided he would take matters into his own hands). It launched a passion that Merritt would pursue throughout the rest of his life, beginning with youth and high school soccer games before rising to a college referee and eventually working as a national-level assessor and USSF National Referee Coach. Soccer officiating was a hobby that Merritt also eventually shared with his youngest son, Jarred.
Merritt loved to take his family on an annual camping trip along with other area families. He was a project guy, remodeling much of the family’s Clearwater home himself, and imparted that handiness to his children. Throughout his life, little brought him greater joy than embarking on a project with any of his sons, whether it was a skateboard ramp, a home improvement project, a chicken coop or a life-size Grinch to stand in the front yard for the holidays. He loved to fish (often doing more casting than catching) and stayed in shape as an avid runner.
Merritt was a devout Christian and was an active member of Heritage United Methodist Church in Clearwater. He served as a mentor for younger generations of TKE members at Valdosta State and embarked on a fundraising project to raise money for chapter-house updates. Late in his life, he rediscovered his Scottish roots and became active in Clan Guthrie USA, annually participating in the Highland Games in Dunedin, Florida. In July, Merritt along with Kris and son Jarred attended North America’s largest Highland Games in Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina.
A loving and dedicated husband and father, Merritt is survived by his wife Kris; son Matt (Tacia) of Trenton, Florida; son Cameron (Julie) of Cocoa Beach, Florida; son Jarred of Indiatlantic, Florida; and son Tyler (Lindsey) of Pensacola, Florida, along with their two children, Florence and Eli.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Merritt’s name can be made to Wounded Warrior Project.
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