John Walter Merrick, 85, passed from this life on September 16, 2020. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary, daughter Pam, brother Robert, and parents Walt and Elsie. John retired from Kaiser Mead after 29 years. He worked for the Deer Park School District in several capacities. He raced stock cars at Spokane Interstate Speedway until 1973. He still has his race car “Yipes Stripes” that still runs. John loved to garden and had a very green thumb. He enjoyed painting yard decorations for all of the holidays and selling them at craft fairs. He enjoyed camping, huckleberry picking, and Chiefs hockey games. John is survived by sister Pat Hayes, daughters Tammy Crabtree (Roy) and Candy Lee (Charlie), grandchildren Janet LeTellier (Dan), Amber Bertram (Stan), Amy Dickerson ( Jeremy), Jennifer Crabtree, Ryan Crabtree (Briann), and Cassandra Lee, great-grandchildren Adam, Chasen, Taylor, Pam, and Mason.
A gravesite service will be held at 2:30 pm on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at Fairmount Memorial Park.
