Joseph G. Merrill, M.D.
Marriages
Bunnie Reece
Winifred Weberg - February 8, 1941
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D Obituary - September 24, 2017
Joseph G. Merrill,
M.D.
September 22, 1918 - September 19, 2017
Joseph G. Merrill, M.D.,
retired surgeon, passed away
on September 19, 2017.
He was born on September
22, 1918, in Vermilion,
Illinois to Verna (Sanders)
Merrill and William M.
Merrill. He attended DePauw
University in Green Castle,
Indiana, on an academic scholarship, graduating in 1939. He
then entered the University of Illinois Medical College in
Chicago, receiving a Medical Degree in 1943. In 1949 he
received a Master of Science degree in Surgery. After serving
an internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, he entered
active military duty as a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical
Corps. He was assigned to the 99th Infantry Division and was
involved in the Battle of the Bulge and crossing the Rhine at
Remagen.
After the war, he completed a fellowship in general surgery at
the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and opened an office
in Grand Junction in 1950. Dr. Merrill was the first boardcertified
general surgeon to practice in Grand Junction and
performed the first chest surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital in 1951.
He was a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He also served on
the board of the Colorado Medical Society. Dr. Merrill retired
from practice in January 1988.
Dr. Merrill married his high school sweetheart, Winifred
Weberg, on February 8, 1941. They had five children and 11
grandchildren. After Winifred’s death in 1994, he married
Bunnie Reece. She survives.
Others survivors include children, Judy (JD) Snodgrass, John
(Toula) Merrill, Doug (Paula) Merrill, Bill (Mary Kay) Merrill,
and Laura Merrill (Joel Jackson); 11 grandchildren; 13 greatgrandchildren,
and extended family.
A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday,
September 26, at the First United Methodist Church of Grand
Junction.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to
HopeWest, 3090B North 12th Street, Grand Junction, or First
United Methodist Church, 522 White Avenue, Grand Junction.
