Michael John Merrill, 77, of Reno, Nevada, died peacefully on Dec. 4, 2025 from complications related to Alzheimer's disease.
Mike was an only child born in Saginaw, Michigan to a long line of practical jokers and their eternally patient wives. Saginaw is where he developed a love for Labrador retrievers and for Spatz bread, the latter of which he would bring home from trips back to Michigan and keep in the freezer. He earned his bachelor's degree in engineering from Michigan State and his master's in geotechnical engineering from Georgia Tech.
After graduation he worked in the oil industry in Louisiana and Alaska. Hijinks ensued, and he eventually made his way to the San Francisco Bay Area where his stubborn nature and his remarkable interest in retaining walls led him to start his own business. He married twice and had four equally stubborn children.
Having grown up around Michigan's auto industry, Mike was a committed union man. He volunteered for the United Farm Workers, posing as a fresh-faced college kid doing a school project to find out which grocery stores got produce from known exploitative growers, and earning his celebrity story: Cesar Chavez made himself a sandwich in Mike's kitchen while Mike was at work.
Mike was a lifelong Catholic who lived his faith, volunteering every week for nine years at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California as a lay minister to the men incarcerated there. He opened his home to several of those men upon their release from jail, offering them work, friendship, and a second chance.
To the end of his life--even with his brain ravaged by Alzheimer's--Mike continued to try to defend the vulnerable in his own way: starting fights in the memory care facility when he perceived that someone was hassling the ladies.
Mike is survived by his daughter, Megan Merrill of Chicago, IL; his sons Matthew Merrill of New York, NY, Gregory de Merel of Reno, NV, and Jack Merrill of Reno, NV; and his grandson, Sergei Rubinstein, of Chicago, IL.
Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mike's memory to BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency) and their Warm Hand-Off program in partnership with Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA to give returning citizens resources and support before they walk out into uncertainty.
Mike will be deeply missed, and his wild stories passed on.
Mike was an only child born in Saginaw, Michigan to a long line of practical jokers and their eternally patient wives. Saginaw is where he developed a love for Labrador retrievers and for Spatz bread, the latter of which he would bring home from trips back to Michigan and keep in the freezer. He earned his bachelor's degree in engineering from Michigan State and his master's in geotechnical engineering from Georgia Tech.
After graduation he worked in the oil industry in Louisiana and Alaska. Hijinks ensued, and he eventually made his way to the San Francisco Bay Area where his stubborn nature and his remarkable interest in retaining walls led him to start his own business. He married twice and had four equally stubborn children.
Having grown up around Michigan's auto industry, Mike was a committed union man. He volunteered for the United Farm Workers, posing as a fresh-faced college kid doing a school project to find out which grocery stores got produce from known exploitative growers, and earning his celebrity story: Cesar Chavez made himself a sandwich in Mike's kitchen while Mike was at work.
Mike was a lifelong Catholic who lived his faith, volunteering every week for nine years at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California as a lay minister to the men incarcerated there. He opened his home to several of those men upon their release from jail, offering them work, friendship, and a second chance.
To the end of his life--even with his brain ravaged by Alzheimer's--Mike continued to try to defend the vulnerable in his own way: starting fights in the memory care facility when he perceived that someone was hassling the ladies.
Mike is survived by his daughter, Megan Merrill of Chicago, IL; his sons Matthew Merrill of New York, NY, Gregory de Merel of Reno, NV, and Jack Merrill of Reno, NV; and his grandson, Sergei Rubinstein, of Chicago, IL.
Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mike's memory to BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency) and their Warm Hand-Off program in partnership with Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA to give returning citizens resources and support before they walk out into uncertainty.
Mike will be deeply missed, and his wild stories passed on.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Michael John Merrill, please visit our flower store.
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