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William Edward Merrill, born April 19, 1920, in Portland, Maine; son of Lillian Weeks Merrill and Frederick S. Merrill of Gorham, ME, died in Albuquerque, NM Saturday, October 2, 2004, at his residence. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Hope Merrill Woodbury in 1998; and his wife of 56 years, Myra Morrison Merrill on April 23, 2003. He is survived by his nephews and nieces, John and Winnona Woodbury of South Portland, ME, Mary and Dudley Bostwick of Cape Elizabeth, ME, James and Carol Woodbury of Portland, ME, Freda Wood of Greensburg, KS, and Fern Ridge of Isabel, KS. William graduated from Gorham High School, Gorham, ME in 1938, and entered the United States Army Air Corps military service at France Field, in the Panama Canal Zone, Barksdale Field, LA, and Kirtland Field in New Mexico, and South Pacific Service in 1943, assigned to the 5th Bomb Gp. From Espirito Santo in the New Hebridies to New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. He returned stateside in 1944 and back to the Pacific to Okinawa 1945. Lieutenant Merrill received his discharge at Fort Bliss, TX January 1946 and came back to Albuquerque, "the place he loved so well," and where he had resided the past 58 years. He was the owner and operator of a Chevron Service Station for 27 years and also was employed by the FAA for 15 years, from which he retired in 1982. In his early years after the war he had an Air Taxi Service and was a Certified Flight Instructor in Albuquerque. A graveside funeral service will be held at the Santa Fe National Cemetery on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 at 2:30 p.m. Arrangements by Direct Funeral Services, 2919 4th ST. NW. ABQ. 505-343-8008
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