Mary Helen Merritt

Mary Helen Merritt of Shawnee, KS, died Friday, February 22, 2013, at Kansas City Hospice House. Helen was born February 26, 1932, in St. John's, Newfoundland, to Frank and Emma Quigley. While working at the U.S. Air Force Base in Goose Bay, Labrador, in 1957 she met and married American serviceman Otis Merritt. Like most Air Force families, their three children were born at different Air Force bases across the United States, but the majority of their Service life was spent in Goose Bay. She and Otis retired to Windsor, MO, in the early 1970s and later moved to Savannah, GA, where he died in 2006.

She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Mary and brother Robert. She is survived by sisters Margaret Langston of Savannah, GA; Alice O'Keefe of Carbonear, Newfoundland; and Ann McCarthy of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland; her three children, Frank Merritt (Nancy) of Aberdeen, Maryland; Anna Maria Merritt of Kansas City, MO; and Bonny Parsons (Terry) of Shawnee, KS; grandchildren Kate, Brianne and Colin Merritt, and Kenzi and Merritt Parsons; great-grandchildren Alexie, Alyssa and Aidyn; and many loving nieces and nephews.

Memorial Services and contributions

A memorial service will be held in May at Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, SC. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care, 12000 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO 64145.