Welcome to the memorial page for

Sue L. Merrill

May 22, 1937 ~ August 12, 2015 (age 78) 78 Years Old

Welcome to the memorial page for

Sue L. Merrill

May 22, 1937 ~ August 12, 2015 (age 78) 78 Years Old

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A candle was lit by Joe and Sharon and Sheila and Joshua on August 18, 2015 8:05 PM

Message from Joe and Sharon Wagner

August 18, 2015 6:03 PM

A Tribute To You, Sue.

You have filled our lives with your presence, your spirit and your essence. You have brought to us and left us with memories filled with joy, happiness and wondrous times. Your children, Matthew, who preceded you, and Maximilian and Meredith are your Legacy and are so well loved. You and Smokey have added so much beauty and a refreshing of life to all of us, and this world is such a better place because of you both. May your new adventure in the heavenly realms surpass anything you could have ever imagined – bringing so much beauty and art and love and joy and purity to you; and, may it spill down on all of us who are still here until we join you and those who have gone before us - to sit with you at the Magnificent Banquet Table of Jesus, our Lord and Savior and King. God Bless You Now and Evermore, Cousin Sue.

With love,

Your Devoted Cousins

Growing Up With Cousins…

Sue and twins Joe and John had much in common - they were born in 1937 - Sue, May 22 and Joe and John, July 11; and they loved going on adventures. The three had great fun adventures together over the years. The summers at Juniata River camp were amazing. Playing outside until dark...picnics together and porch meals with the family - breakfast, lunch and dinner, and desserts galore - these times were amazing! The ‘gang’ which consisted of Barbie, Dick, Russell, and Sue, Joe and John, played ball, swam, hiked, hunted and hung out together. They all looked forward to each summer adventure that was yet to come. Bernard (Pete) Wagner and Lynne Merrill were the youngest of the two families and weren’t big enough to join the “older crowd” in the escapades, so they hung closer to the parents for a sense of protection from the ‘rowdies.’ As the children grew older the ‘gang’ would venture farther and farther away from the camp site to explore the surrounding areas, finding good fishing holes and hunting grounds.

When not at the summer camp the average Sunday would find the Merrill family and Wagner family together. The children would dress in their ‘Sunday finest’ and attend church services with Grandpa Merrill. Afterwards a wonderful sit-down dinner would be served back at either the Garrett home, the log cabin where Joe and John were born, or later on, the Cairnbrook Boarding house.

As the years progressed the Merrill’s spent their winters in Palm Beach, Florida. Barbie, Sue and Lynne would enjoy days on the beach, sunning, swimming, shelling, and hiking. On occasion Erma, Bernadine’s baby sister, would join them at the Ardma or Oceanview Hotel for a few weeks. Air boating in the Everglades was one of the adventures the Merrill’s took Erma on, and during this special time the captain of the airboat, Jack Wellman, became their friend. Jack invited Erma and Paul and their boys to come to his place on Lake Worth Road in western Lake Worth and pitch a tent for a period of time until they purchased property and built their homestead. The Wagner’s took Jack up on his offer the following year and they permanently moved to Palm Beach County, Florida in 1949.

Once the Wagner cousins arrived and saw the ocean it was hard to keep them out of it. Dick, Russell, Joe and John met up with Barbie and Sue at the beach and the water adventure of snorkeling, scuba diving, gigging fish with homemade Hawaiian slings and lobstering and shrimping was on! The boys who were naturally inclined, taught the girls the ins and outs of reef diving; how to avoid the barracudas from getting too close; the different kinds of fish – what was good to eat - what to stay away from; the many evenings with campfires and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and lobsters right on the beach; and the times they were able to watch the turtles come on shore to lay their eggs in the sand. They all thought they were in heaven, even though lots of sun lotion had to be used for the incessant sunburns they all suffered with.

The girls, especially Sue, so enjoyed coming to Palm Beach. The bike rides around the Intracoastal; the strolls up and down Worth Avenue; the nice shops and restaurants and the cousins close by – what was there not to like. Time went on, and they all grew up – Barbie, Sue and Lynne all attended Universities and graduated with degrees, met the loves of their lives and settled into married life, as did their cousins, Dick, Russell, Joe, John and Bernard. The families grew, children were born and the visits were further and fewer in between. But every chance the cousins would get to be together fun and festivities ensued. Cards, charades, intellectual challenges, and just plain ol’ good times and life long memories of the best kind were made, with lots of snacks and amazing meals included. The new cycle of cousins have bonded and adventures continue. A wonderful truth is that family is forever! Every visit that Sue, Smokey, Max and Merry had with us all was so treasured by each of us, and enjoyed thoroughly by the cousins.
A worthy mention is the occasion when we all gathered at John’s Okeechobee farm for family time and a hog hunt. Sue had her sparkling new Mercedes with the sun roof and insisted it be taken through the woods to hunt the hogs. The hunt was a success – Max was involved - and the sparkling new Mercedes was a little muddied after that adventure. Another time at John’s farm Sue was there when the skies darkened and the winds whipped up. She was on the front porch of the trailer and John was out front in the yard. All of a sudden a gust of wind came and pushed Sue against the door and proceeded to rip off the roof of the front porch but left her unharmed! Ah! Life’s exciting adventures! And this is only a very small portion of the many adventures we had together!

John had a daughter he named Barbara, and Joe had a daughter he named Susan – both in honor of their cousins.