March 1, 1929 ~ Feb. 13, 2017
Phillippi Mozelle Merritt, 87, passed away on February 13, 2017 in Carson City, Nevada. He was born on March 1, 1929 in San Francisco, California.
Mo grew up in Santa Barbara, California and graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1946. After graduating high school, he joined the United States Army as a Private and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1952. He retired in 1975, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was stationed many places over the years including Germany, Korea and Vietnam, as well as assignments in the United States.
He started his second career as the Range Master at the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, retiring in 1986. After his second retirement, he managed Roemer Security, based in Santa Barbara, for 12 years. His last retirement came in 1998 when he started his fourth career as chauffeur and general go-fer for his wife Margaret.
He enjoyed RV travel, golf, chess and crosswords. He was proud of logging over 7,500 hours driving veterans to the VA hospital in Reno and of his volunteer service at Carson Tahoe Hospital.
Mo and Margaret (Keller) were married in 1951 in Goleta, California. We will be celebrating their 66th Anniversary March 25, 2017 along with the celebration of his life.
Mo is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Carson City, Nevada; his children, Joselle Merritt of Merced, California and Lisa West of Nipomo, California, Matthew and Kelly Merritt of Carson City, Nevada and Nancy and Darrell Haigwood of Dayton, Nevada. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Jessica Merritt, Samuel Merritt, Emily Egan, Miriam Egan, William Webster and Rylee Merritt as well as nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at C5 Church, 1600 Snyder Avenue, Carson City, Nevada on March 25, 2017 at 11:00 am.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to “The Mo Merritt Fund Designated for Women in Crisis” in care of C5 Church.
