Robert Lee Merkle

He was born in Waterbury, CT and attended The Taft School in Middlebury, CT. He later attended Champlain College and Plattsburg State Teacher’s College, both in New York. Robert taught elementary education for 12 years in New Rochelle and 20 years in Nanuet, New York school systems. For many years, he also taught English to those pursuing their high school equivalency diplomas. He was active in many community and summer theater productions in New York and North Carolina, starring in over 52 plays. Robert and his wife of 59 years retired in 1983 and relocated to North Carolina in 1988.

He is survived by his children, Karen Shalom, Kirsti Harris and Robert Merkle, Jr., five grandchildren, Diane Buell, Jeff Shalom, Rachael Merkle, Nicole Merkle, and Daniel Harris and four great-grandchildren, Thomas, Dylan and Alexander Shalom and Elliott Buell.

Those who met Robert Lee Merkle were treated to a man of great compassion, kindness and warmth. He made everyone he met feel special and left them with a smile on their face, always telling a joke or teasing them. He was greatly loved by many he only casually knew, clerks in stores, waitresses in restaurants, grocery store employees, and bank tellers. If you met Robert Lee Merkle, you remembered him and looked forward to seeing him again.

A memorial service will be held on August 29, 2017 at 9:30am at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, New Bern, NC. Inurnment will be held in the Sacred Heart Columbarium in Southport, NC the next day.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice.