Wilmer "Bill" Cutler Merrill

Wilmer "Bill" Cutler Merrill, age 86, of Payson, Arizona, passed away on October 25, 2024 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. He died doing what he loved and in so doing he achieved his goal of skipping the nursing home later in life.

He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 5, 1938 to Rowland and Margaret Merrill. He graduated from West High School and received his Bachelor's degree from Utah State University in Automotive Engineering. After a brief period of working for Ford Motor Company he established Merrill Motors in 1965 in Price, Utah. He represented Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. His favorite was Toyota and least favorite was Volkswagen. After selling his dealership in the early nineties, he moved his business to Sandy, Utah and was one of the first dealers in the Utah Auto Mall. In his retirement, he would spend time visiting local dealerships to check out the latest models.

He was an avid motorcyclist and began riding motorcycles at an early age and was a regular at traffic school into his eighties. He rode his motorcycle all over the American West and Canada. He especially enjoyed Yellowstone, Colorado in the fall, Banff and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, and the the mountains and deserts of Arizona. Other than his motorcycle, Bill had a passion for cars and bought his first car, an old Model T, at the at the age of fourteen which he had to park around the corner from his home to hide it from his parents. In high school he was a member of The Crusaders car club and would spend weekends driving up and down State Street.

Bill was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as one of the first missionaries in the country of Brazil. Throughout his life, he struggled with his participation in the church, but as the years went on, his activity in his faith became more important to him. He had recently been called to be the single adult leader in his ward and was known to share copies of the Book of Mormon with nonmember friends and family.

He freely shared his opinions with people, some good and some bad, and had plenty to say about religion, politics, marijuana, real estate, motorcycles, and cars. He enjoyed being around people and made friends in the many places he lived, including Alpine, Utah; Island Park and Ashton Idaho; and Payson, Arizona.

Bill is survived by his children, Alan, Natalie, Brian, Jill, Joshua, and Tiffany; his grandchildren, Annie, Katie, Rosie, Steve, Kyle, Matthew, Emily, Nathan, Jeff, Mark, Alyssa, Elekcia, Jacey, and Adam; his great-grandchildren, Eliza, Owen, and Luke, and his sister, Pam (Merrill) Prunckun. Bill is preceded in death by his sons, Mark Cutler Merrill and David Chad Merrill; his brothers, Rowland and Craig Merrill, and his sister Margot Merrill.

A viewing will be held on Monday, November 4, from 6:00-8:00 pm at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah and a graveside service will be held November 5, at 10:00 am in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.