Lloyd Jon Mercer

Lloyd Jon Mercer was born on February 14, 1936 in Farnam, Nebraska to Theodore Hughes Mercer and Lula Marie Waggy (Mercer). His mother passed away when he was a newborn, and his father remarried and they moved to Eastern Washington.

Lloyd grew up on a dairy farm in Addy, Washington with his father, Ted, stepmother Alice, and his siblings Ardith, Glenn, Ted, and Lowell. He attended the State College of Washington (now Washington State University) in Pullman and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in agriculture as well as a master of arts degree in agricultural economics. He met his first wife, Perie Louise Burrow (Mercer), when they were both undergraduates, and they married in 1960.

He was a member of the ROTC and entered the Air Force as a second lieutenant commissioned officer, and was later promoted to first lieutenant. He was stationed at Lowry AFB in Colorado, and served on active duty for three years. He and Perie then moved to Seattle, and he received a MA and Ph.D in Economics from the University of Washington. Upon graduation, he became a professor of economics at the University of California Santa Barbara, where he taught for forty years. As an economist, he wrote extensively on land grants and railroads as well as on general economic topics. He specialized in economic history and created a course focusing on the economics of ancient civilizations.

On campus, he was an avid supporter of the UCSB basketball team. He was active in the First United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara, helping as an usher and singing in the choir. He and his wife Perie raised two daughters, Carolyn and Janet, in Santa Barbara. Sadly, Perie passed away in 1994 after a hard fought battle with cancer. Lloyd was fortunate to find the second love of his life, Karen Shillestad Townsend, whom he married in 1998. He and Karen lived in Santa Barbara until his retirement at age 70, at which time they moved to Washington State.

Lloyd lived a full life and devoted himself to a wide range of interests. He read voraciously (especially murder mysteries), played piano, sang in choral groups, and enjoyed photography. He loved to travel, eat at local restaurants, and to go to plays, movies, musical theater, and the opera. One of his aspirations was to publish a mystery novel and he dreamed of devoting much time to this during his retirement. Cooking and baking were also some of his hobbies and he was famous for his fruit pies.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Karen Townsend Mercer, his daughters Carolyn Mercer Collins (Kevin Collins) and Janet Aileen Mercer (Shane Franco) his stepson, Chris Townsend (Dan Desmarais) and stepdaughters Meg Amos (Dave Amos) and Jen Townsend (Darren Neal), and his grandchildren, Anthony Ferrer, Ian Ferrer, Evan Franco, Liana Franco, Emily Amos and Ava Amos.

The family would like to thank the staff of the Candlebrook Lodge/All Care Adult Family home in Bremerton, Washington for their phenomenal care over the past several years. He passed away peacefully on May 23, 2021, surrounded by love.