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In Memory Of
Norman Lajean Merritt, Sr.
1934
2019
Norman Lajean Merritt, Sr.
September 19, 1934 — April 14, 2019
Listen to Obituary
Colonel Norman LaJean Merritt, Sr, U.S. Air Force, Retired passed away peacefully on April 14, 2019 at the age of 84 with his devoted wife at his side at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was a resident of Fort Collins, Colorado and Corry, Pennsylvania.
He is survived by his cherished wife of 64 years, Norma Jean Merritt, and his four children and their spouses, Susan Merritt Slattery (Brian), Sandra Kay Merritt (Scot Gring), Norman LaJean Merritt, Jr (Armenay), and David Michael Merritt (Tamara). He is also survived by fourteen loving grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.
He was Commissioned to the United States Air Force through the ROTC program at Cornell University and a distinguished career followed in the USAF from May 1957-June 1984. He served three pentagon assignments and worked six years on the Air Staff and four years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was also a Base Commander at Thule Air Base in Greenland and the Chief of the Cost and Economic Analysis Division at NORAD. He later was employed by the University of Illinois as an Associate Professor of Air Science. Upon retirement, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
Aside from his numerous professional accomplishments, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather who constantly sought to bless the lives of his family. He doted on his wife and felt marrying her was the greatest event of his life. His family never doubted his love for them which he expressed time and again with bear hugs, fishing trips, gourmet late night meals, barrel laughs, and handcrafted toys. He always made the world around him better by building the communities where he lived: from building a brick concession stand at the Springfield ball fields in Virginia to inviting his entire church congregation to a picnic at his farmhouse and donating money to create a weight room in the Corry, Pennsylvania YMCA. He will be sorely missed.
A Military Funeral Honors Ceremony will be held in Fort Collins, Colorado at 1:30 PM on May 19, 2019 at Timnath Church in Timnath, CO. A memorial ceremony will be held in Corry, Pennsylvania in late July 2019. Details to follow.
He is survived by his cherished wife of 64 years, Norma Jean Merritt, and his four children and their spouses, Susan Merritt Slattery (Brian), Sandra Kay Merritt (Scot Gring), Norman LaJean Merritt, Jr (Armenay), and David Michael Merritt (Tamara). He is also survived by fourteen loving grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.
He was Commissioned to the United States Air Force through the ROTC program at Cornell University and a distinguished career followed in the USAF from May 1957-June 1984. He served three pentagon assignments and worked six years on the Air Staff and four years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was also a Base Commander at Thule Air Base in Greenland and the Chief of the Cost and Economic Analysis Division at NORAD. He later was employed by the University of Illinois as an Associate Professor of Air Science. Upon retirement, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
Aside from his numerous professional accomplishments, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather who constantly sought to bless the lives of his family. He doted on his wife and felt marrying her was the greatest event of his life. His family never doubted his love for them which he expressed time and again with bear hugs, fishing trips, gourmet late night meals, barrel laughs, and handcrafted toys. He always made the world around him better by building the communities where he lived: from building a brick concession stand at the Springfield ball fields in Virginia to inviting his entire church congregation to a picnic at his farmhouse and donating money to create a weight room in the Corry, Pennsylvania YMCA. He will be sorely missed.
A Military Funeral Honors Ceremony will be held in Fort Collins, Colorado at 1:30 PM on May 19, 2019 at Timnath Church in Timnath, CO. A memorial ceremony will be held in Corry, Pennsylvania in late July 2019. Details to follow.
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