John Merrell's Obituary
John Wesley Merrell, 75, of Cornelius died September 25, 2020 at his home. He was born on December 26, 1944 in Bryan, TX to the late Francis and Dorothy Merrell.
After being born in Texas, John's family moved to Nebraska and John went to school and graduated from Shelton High School. While in high school, John played the trumpet in the high school band and also played football. Following high school, John attended Chadron College for 2 years before enlisting in the United States Air Force. He was stationed in England and then Libya where he was unofficially a "prisoner of war". When Kadifi took over, the personnel on the base were not allowed to leave the country and there were guns pointed at the base, but his only picture shows him at the beach. After leaving the Air Force, John moved to Omaha , Nebraska where he started his career of painting which he continued in Nebraska and California until he moved to North Carolina in 2006. It was there he also met Diane Gould and they became engaged three weeks later and married on September 6, 1975. John loved to golf and watch it on television always looking for tips on how to improve his game. He was a huge Nebraska Cornhusker Fan, attending games or finding a place where he could see his beloved Huskers play football, wearing red until the moment of his passing. In November, John, Diane and the whole family flew to Paris for 9 wonderful days in France, England, Germany and Luxembourg. John said this was the best thing he ever did. John loved his family dearly and was a friend to all he met.
He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Diane Kay Merrell; daughters, Gina and Molly, both of Huntersville; grandchildren, Amanda, Wesley, Taevion, Nevneh, John and Liam; siblings, Kay Knapp, Francene Macey (Rex), Kathy Crisman (Bruce), and Chris McCoy (Roy).
A memorial service will be held at 10 AM Saturday, October 3 on the front lawn of Mt. Zion U.M.C. in Cornelius. Please wear red in honor of John!
We request no flowers. The family will determine a charity as soon as possible donations may be made to in lieu of flowers.
James Funeral Home of Huntersville is serving the family. www.jamesfuneralhomeLKN.com
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