Merrill WrightMerrill Wright
Merrill G. Wright, 82, of Ipava died at 11:52 p.m. July 14, 2008, at Graham Hospital in Canton.
He was born Sept. 27, 1925, in Canton, a son of George and Verlie Grimm Wright. He married Esther Vada Brown on Sept. 8, 1946, in Canton. She died May 20, 2006.
He also was preceded in death by two brothers, Arlen and Jarvis Wright.
Surviving are three sons, Roger (and Connie) Wright of Delavan, Leon (and Deborah) Wright of Ipava and Dennis (and Sally) Wright of Peoria; one daughter, Connie Sue (and Jerry) Nelson of Canton; nine grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and 17 step-great-grandchildren.
He was an Army veteran of World War II, serving in the 17th Airborne Division. He participated in Operation Varsity over the Rhine River in Germany.
He was a farmer and worked at Butler Manufacturing in Galesburg, then worked at Sunspot Mine in Vermont for AMAX Coal Company. After retirement, he worked for Village of Ipava.
He was a member of Ipava United Presbyterian Church where he held many offices, including trustee, deacon and elder.
He was a member of Ipava Masonic Lodge, where he served as treasurer; Ipava American Legion Post 17; Ipava Volunteer Fire Department; and board of trustee member of Spoon River College in Canton.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Ipava United Methodist Church with Rev. Danie deBeer officiating. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Thursday at Shawgo Memorial Home in Ipava. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery with military rites provided by the Ipava American Legion Post 17.
Memorials may be made to his church or Ipava Rescue Squad.