Lloyd Merkelson

Lloyd was the son of Ernest and Florence , husband of Billie Merkelson, father of Julie (Andrew) Dermack and Matthew (Cindy) Merkelson, grandfather of Rachel and Jason Dermack, and Lia and Kacey Merkelson. He was a member of the Townsend Harris High School Class of 1943, but after the school was closed by Mayor LaGuardia in 1942, graduated from Bryant High School. After a brief stint in the Navy towards the end of WWII, Lloyd graduated from The City College of New York in 1948. Lloyd was an electrical engineer and worked primarily as an estimator for two major electrical contracting firms, Zwicker Electric and Forest Electric. Along the way he earned a Professional Engineer license and designed the electrical systems for many iconic office buildings in the New York City skyline. Lloyd had tremendous passion for his work so much so that he retired at 75.

Lloyd spent most of his life in Queens, but loved to travel. He and Billie were avid theater goers and retired in New York in part to keep up with all of their theater subscriptions, including Playwrights Horizons and Lincoln Center Lloyd was a member, and later master, of the Nathan Straus Masonic Lodge. Lloyd was also a plant lover, but his greatest loves (besides his family) were books and crossword puzzles.

Lloyd and Billie recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Both Lloyd and Billie were only children and love their family. Their daughter Julie has been married for almost 30 years to Andrew and lives in Charlotte, NC. They have two children, Rachel, a graduate of The University of North Carolina who lives in Atlanta, and Jason, a senior at The University of South Carolina who will graduate in May. Lloyd and Billie’s son Matthew and his wife Cindy have been married for 25 years and have two daughters, Lia, who is a sophomore at Fordham University and Kacey, a graduating senior at Lloyd’s alma mater, Townsend Harris High School. He will be missed by his beloved family, friends, neighbors and staff at The Cryder House.