Paul D Merritts

PAUL DAVID MERRITTS, 90, peacefully passed away on August 10, 2020 at home comforted by the love of his daughters. The son of the late Ralph and Marie (Sholl) Merritts, he was born September 24, 1929, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Jefferson High School in Berne, Indiana and attended Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts. After serving in the U. S. Army from 1951 to 1953, he started his printing career at Higley Press in Butler, Indiana. He was a pressman at Didier Printing in Fort Wayne and retired from Lincoln Printing in 1994. On weekends, he drove an 18-wheel tanker, hauling milk from farms to Wayne Co-Op. He enjoyed travelling, riding his motorcycle, flying an airplane and living the lake life on Little Barbee with his loving partner, Jo Ann. Later in life his joy came from being with his daughters, keeping up with his grandchildren’s activities and taking drives, sometimes just to look out at the countryside and other times with a purpose, like to stock up on apple butter. Paul was a member of Taylor Chapel United Methodist Church. He is survived by his companion of 30 years, Jo Ann (Falk) Stoffel of Fort Wayne; his former wife, Midge Chambers of Fort Wayne; four daughters, Polly M. (Jacob) Bonilla of Flynn, Texas; Melinda S. (Richard) Cope of Stevenson Ranch, California; Nancy A. (Joseph) Wever of Indianapolis; Kathy E. (Bradley) Bakle of Fort Wayne; 11 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Althea Nixon and Marjorie Merritts. Funeral service will be held at 1pm on Saturday, August 15, 2020 at D. O. McComb & Sons Funeral Homes – Covington Knolls, 8325 Covington Road, with calling from 11am to 1pm before the service. Burial at Covington Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to National Kidney Foundation of Indiana, 911 East 86th Street, Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46240 in honor of the loving care provided by Davita Appleseed Dialysis.