Bill Merryman

Memorial services will be held for Bill Merryman, of Waco, at Pecan Grove Funeral Home Chapel on Saturday, December 19th, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
He died peacefully on Sunday, December 6th at his home in Waco.

Bill was born, the second child, to Irene and Elmer Merryman on April 25, 1946, in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Mr. Merryman was raised in Oklahoma. He met his wife, Linda Householder, in Sulphur when he was seven years old and visiting his cousin Carrol Merryman, who was Linda’s best friend. Bill and Linda were married in 1967.

Bill graduated high school in Harrah, Oklahoma in 1964. He was a history buff and became a history teacher after graduating from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma in 1968. He earned a Masters Degree in Educational Technology/Educational Media from the University of Oklahoma in 1979. In 1981 he received his Secondary School Administrator’s Certificate, also from the University of Oklahoma.

Bill worked as a teacher and administrator in several school districts in Oklahoma and also for one year in rural Alaska. For many years, he was Vice Principal of Moore High School, a job he loved. Bill genuinely enjoyed talking to children and teenagers, which is why he found his career as an educator so rewarding.

Having a very warm and friendly personality, Bill made friends easily. He loved to laugh and swap jokes and tell stories. He accepted people as they were.

In 1969 Bill joined those serving in the Vietnam War. He was a member of the First Air Cavalry Division. While in Vietnam, he received the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, and Vietnam Service Medal. He left Vietnam to serve in Göppingen, Germany where he was the American Youth Association Director.

In 1971, while Bill and Linda were living in Germany, their daughter, Christina Michelle Merryman, was born. Bill was a loving father to Christy and an adoring grandfather to his four grandchildren.

In 1998, Bill and Linda moved to Texas to live closer to their daughter. Bill drove long haul trucks for several years and then became the book van driver for Waco McLennan County Library until 2014.

Bill was preceded in death by his father Elmer L. Merryman, his mother Rosia Irene (Townsley) Merryman, his sisters Barbara Sue Merryman and Judy Drew, and his grandson Elijah Merryman-Stewart.

Survivors include his wife Linda, his daughter Christina Merryman and her husband Brant Merryman of Austin, Texas, and his grandchildren: Bobbi, Ahna, Elliott, and Liam.