Benjamin Jay Merrill
Benjamin “Ben” Merrill was a devoted, caring and loving husband, father, and grandfather. He passed away on August 19, 2021 at the age of 75 after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. He is in heaven now with the angels smiling, laughing, and joking as he did here on earth.
Ben was born February 23, 1946 to Joe and Charlotte Merrill in Mobile, Alabama. He was one of four children. He graduated from Richardson High School and attended Texas Tech University. It was at Tech where he met, Judy, the love of his life on a blind date. They were married on June 6, 1967 in Lockney, Texas and were together for 54 years. He wanted her by his side every minute of every day. He adored her. She was his rock, his touchstone, his everything.
Drafted into the United States Army in 1967, Ben proudly served his country in the Vietnam War where he was exposed to agent orange which regrettably led to his Parkinson’s diagnosis. He was awarded the prestigious Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces. Ben returned home in September of 1969 and met his daughter Lisa for the first time. She was already 6 months old. He missed her birth while away at war.
Ben and his family moved to Grayson County in 1972. They had their second child, Mitchell, who passed away at the age of 13 months from a rare genetic disorder. Ben never really got over the loss of his son. Ben and Judy set up a memorial fund in his name The Mitchell Jay Merrill Memorial Scholarship at Grayson County College.
Ben was an extremely hard worker with a strong work ethic. He was a successful restaurant owner for most of his life. He worked very long hard hours. He owned Hobo Joe’s Italian Restaurant, The Hideaway, Benjamin’s Restaurant and Catering, Calhoun’s night club, and Bubba’s Catfish & Crab Shack. His last job prior to retirement was manager of the Grayson Grand Central Station where he spent 5 years from 2014-2019 and completed 1000 hours of service.
Ben was also a very generous selfless man with a big heart. He was always there to help family, friends, employees, and strangers a like. He would be the first to lend a helping hand, loan you some money, bail you out of trouble, or give you a ride. He would give you the shirt off his back if that is what you needed. He genuinely cared for people and believed that sometimes people just needed someone to take an interest and have faith in them.
Ben enjoyed taking vacations, working in his yard, and playing video poker at Choctaw but the thing he enjoyed most of all was spending time with his family. He cherished his daughter Lisa, and his two beloved grandchildren, Witten and Alayna, more than anything in this world. They were his pride and joy. Ben was an absolutely amazing daddy and granddaddy. He spent countless hours caring for his grandchildren while their parents were at work. He would do just about anything they asked him to from playing games like hide and seek to playing dress up. He loved to get in the pool and swim with them and even liked taking them to Chuck E. Cheese when they were younger. He always made sure they had whatever prize they had their eye on whether they had enough tickets or not. He loved building and constructing things out in the garage with Witten. They built a table that sits in the bedroom where he would stay while at their house. He took great pleasure in watching Alayna dance and perform and was Witten’s loudest and proudest fan at his baseball and basketball games. He will definitely go down in the history books as one of the all time best granddaddy’s ever!
Ben was preceded in death by his son Mitchell Jay Merrill; parents Joseph John Merrill and Charlotte Rogers Merrill; brother Louis Emmett Merrill; in-laws W.D. Roberts and Jewell Roberts; brother-in-law Tom Carter; and niece Brandy Rogers Wilson.
He is survived by his wife Judy; his daughter and son-in-law Lisa and Bryan Tripp; grandchildren Witten Mitchell and Alayna Jane Tripp; sister and brother-in-law Barbara and John Andrews; sister Charlotte Semrau; sister-in-law Jeny Carter; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Jill and Ronny Rogers; nephews David Oromaner, Jimmy Staples, and Joey Staples; nieces Misty Barber and Linzi Schwartz.
The family would like to say a special thank you to the outstanding staff at Silver Leaf Assisted Living in Denison and to the wonderful, kind, and caring people at Grayson Home Hospice in Sherman.
Services with military honors will be held at The Chapel On The Hill at Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherman, TX on August 25, 2021 at 1:00 pm, and will be officiated by Reverend Stacey Piyakhun of Melissa United Methodist Church. Arrangements are under the care of Johnson-Moore Funeral Home. Condolences may be registered online at johnsonmoorefuneralhome.net.
