Donald Eugene Merkel

Donald Eugene Merkel, age 89, of Tallahassee, Florida passed away on Friday, December 3, 2021. Don was born September 28th, 1932 in Sylacauga, Alabama to Will Waco and Mary Julia (Niven) Merkel. Youngest brother to William Joseph, Mary Elizabeth, Myrtice Marie, Ruth Juanita, and Julia Iola, Don graduated from Sylacauga High School in 1950 and Auburn University in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves as a Field Artillery Officer. He was a member and student president of the Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society and member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society at Auburn University.

Upon graduation, Don was employed by Southern Railroad Company as a way and structures maintenance engineer. In 1955 he was called to active duty for the U.S. Army and served as a Reconnaissance and Survey Officer in a Field Artillery Battalion in the Republic of Korea. Released from active duty in 1957, Don earned a Juris Doctor of Law from the University of Alabama in 1959. While employed by Kearley and McConnell, Attorneys in Mobile, Alabama Don met Irene (David) at the 1961 Junior Jaycees Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. He was called to active duty for the U.S. Army during the Berlin Crisis in 1961. During his time commanding a Military Police Company in Ft. Gordon, Georgia, he and Irene were married on February 24, 1962 at the Spring Hill Avenue Methodist Church in Mobile, Alabama where Irene worked as the Church secretary.

In August 1962, Don was released from active duty and was employed by the State of Florida Department of Transportation in Tallahassee, Florida as a Civil Engineer until 1965 and was employed by Jones and Fellers, Architects, Engineers and Planners in Augusta, Georgia. In 1967 he returned to Tallahassee and the Florida Department of Transportation as a Civil Engineer, overseeing countless major highway projects and the official Florida road map. Don retired as the State Topographic Engineer in 1996, after 29 years of service. In 1992 Don retired in the rank of Colonel after a total of 30 years in the active and reserve forces of the U.S. Army. His last assignment was the Commander of the 400th Military Police Prisoner of War Camp, 81st Army Reserve Command. Don was a Lifetime Member and both local and state officer of the Reserve Officers Association and Life Member of the Auburn Alumni Association.

Don was a man of few words and a dry wit, with a generous nature and a deep love of family. Known as Ole Ish to family and friends, Don was a lifelong, die-hard Auburn football fan, a passionate student of history, and an avid family tree enthusiast. Don is survived by Irene (David) Merkel, his loving wife of 59 years, son Kenneth Otto of Southwest Ranches, Florida, daughter Lea Ellen Kent of Chelsea, Michigan, son Lance Stewart Merkel of Orlando, Florida, and his five grandchildren, Stavros (North Miami, Florida), Father Cherubim (Mt. Athos, Greece), Maria Katherine (Sunrise, Florida), Forrest (Chelsea, Michigan), and Tallulah (Chelsea, Michigan). Don will be laid to rest at Culley’s MeadowWood Memorial Park on December 14, 2021, at 1:00pm. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Wounded Warrior Project.