Virginia U. Merrill

Virginia Urban Merrill, daughter of Charles and Lillian May Urban, grew up on a farm in Central Kansas that was homesteaded by her grandfather. She rode a horse to school when she was young and attended Lucas High School. Years later, she would love visiting daughter Melinda and her family in Wilson, Kansas, visiting the farm where she was raised and talking about the crops.

Upon high school graduation, Virginia, known as “Ginny,” took the train from Wilson to the University of Kansas where she became a member of Gamma Phi Beta and Head Cheerleader. Described in the yearbook as a “little atomic bundle,” she forever loved her Jayhawks and broke out in cheers and clapping whenever the fight song was being played.

Virginia met her husband and life-long love, Fred Merrill on a blind date after college and she became his closest confidante in his business endeavors. Her most important role aside from being wife to Fred was being a mother and she took it very seriously. Virginia always had a well-balanced dinner on the table every night and Sunday nights were reserved for the family’s tradition of popcorn, cheese and apples. Whatever her children needed she made sure they had it, and she never stopped caring for her kids. She was the epitome of a nurturing mother.

She was a wonderful cook and entertainer with great decorating taste and flair. She was an expert at making a house a home and prided herself on having a home that was both decorated beautifully for every season, comfortable and welcoming. Just in her last 10 years of life, she started a trend in her neighborhood of decorating her giant two-story pine tree with colored lights at Christmas.

There was nothing quite like Christmas Eve at Nannie and Poppa’s. And Virginia insisted on hosting it for the family throughout her entire life. It always included the best food and Christmas cookies which became a family tradition, started by Virginia and her best friend from Wichita, Kansas, Evelyn Chapman. There was also caroling around the piano, visits from Santa, grab bag gifts and popcorn balls as favors. She loved including friends who had no plans for Christmas Eve and would try to think of some each year to invite.

Not only was Virginia musically gifted with a beautiful voice, but she played the piano and clarinet. She was forever a big supporter of the arts, especially the symphony, from the time she and the family would attend the Wichita Symphony concerts to the decades of years she and Fred were season ticket holders for the Kansas City Symphony. She attended the Symphony Ball until she was 98 and Symphony concerts until weeks before she was in the hospital.

Virginia spent four long years in Minneapolis, Minnesota when Fred became President of ADM Milling Division and longed for the warm weather and wheat fields of Kansas. She started book clubs in Wichita and Minneapolis and enjoyed being a member of the Kansas City Symphony League, P.E.O., multiple school PTA boards, as well as being a Governor of the American Royal.

A huge sports fan, Virginia loved watching KU basketball, and she and Fred watched every Royals and Chiefs game on TV after they had enjoyed season tickets for decades. Her favorite sporting events were those where she could watch son Fred Jr. run track and play football at KSU - she was his biggest fan.

Virginia was a great advocate for dogs and loved all her family dogs. She treated them like a human member of the family. People always joked they wanted to come back in their next life as one of Virginia’s dogs. Most recently, she rescued and rehabilitated a little white puff ball named Annie. Actually, it’s not clear who rescued who, but they were inseparable.

Her biggest joy later in life was her grandkids and great grandkids. Nothing made “Nannie” happier than seeing them walk in the door. She and Poppa loved attending their choir concerts, voice and dance recitals, sporting events and birthday parties. What her kids and grandkids will all miss is her great interest in their lives. She wanted to hear about everything, and they loved sharing the latest news with her.

Virginia looked forward every year to having the family come to their winter home in Phoenix with memories of swimming, the Arizona Biltmore, dinner at El Chorro’s and art walks in Old Town. She and Fred honeymooned in Estes Park and made summers there a cherished family tradition going on 80 years. Memories that will never be forgotten: Cookouts at Elk Horn Lodge, looking for animals in Rocky Mountain National Park after dinner, Lazy B Chuckwagon Suppers with the singing cowboys, walks around Bear Lake, picnics at Sprague Lake, trips to Charlie Eagle Plume’s Trading Post, nights playing Chinese rummy and mornings watching the humming birds drink the red sugar water that they expected the minute we got to the cabin.

Virginia’s faith in God was strong and the family grew up saying grace before dinner and bedtime prayers. She was a church deacon, church choir member and children’s church choir director. The verse she lived by was 1Corinthians 13:13. “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

A memorial service to celebrate Virginia’s life is being held at 11:30 a.m., Friday, January 24 at Country Club Christian Church, 6101 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri.

She is survived by daughter Melanie Thompson, son-in-law Wayne Thompson, son Fred Merrill, Jr., daughter-in-law Candy Merrill, daughter Melinda Merrill, daughter Merrie Costello and son-in-law David Costello. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren who loved their “Nannie” dearly.

The family wishes to thank her valued support staff: Rachel Woolbright, Shirley Bates, Barbara Lewis, Amalia Meiners, Laurie Sprinkle, Ella Root, Judy Hanks and Kay Hall McNamara. Special heartfelt thanks to her doctor of many years, Peter Holt and the dedicated nurses and doctors at St. Luke’s Hospital ICU and St. Luke’s Hospice House.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Kansas City Symphony.