Larry Enrico Merlo

1945 - 2013

LARRY MERLO Larry Enrico Merlo was born in Chico, CA on March 10, 1945 to Enrico and Diva (Cinquini) Merlo, and passed away in Durham, CA on December 18, 2013. After attending Notre Dame School, Larry graduated from Chico High School in 1963. Larry married the love of his life, Loya Nolta, on August 21, 1965 at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Chico. Loya fell in love with Larry's sensitive nature, humor, general passion for life, and large Italian family. Larry's accomplish-ments in life were profound, but his greatest joy in life was his family. Larry is survived by his wife of 48 years Loya, sons Rocque (April Dawn), Joe (Jenni), and Gary (Kendi), his grandchildren Mallory, Rico, Avery, Joey, Max, and Molly, as well as his "daughters of choice" Lisa Washburn and Jennifer Warndorf. In addition to his immediate family, Larry leaves behind his brother Mark (Sandy) and sisters Nancy (Jim) Dias and Deanna Rowe. Larry will also be missed by his Godparents Harry Merlo Sr. and Marie Cinquini, his dear aunt Martha Woolery, god-daughters Carol, Linda, Christine, Melissa, Hilary, and Kimberly, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews,. Throughout the 1960's, Larry was a member of the Army Reserve and loved being a drill sergeant (which his sons appreciated very much). From the time he could walk, Larry was busy doing anything and everything in the family almond and walnut orchards, and continued to work hard his entire life. He was so proud that his three sons continued the tradition of farming together, because to Larry, faith and family always came first. As a child, Larry learned to hunt from his uncle Pino, who taught him not just how to shoot, but to respect the land and animals that fed the family. He learned to fly fish the west branch of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and to hunt and call ducks in the Butte Sink. As a teenager he started guiding private clients, and many of those same hunters continued to hunt with Larry for the rest of his life. Larry started his career as a waterfowl guide in 1967 under the mentorship of Jim Altenberg and Pete Merlo at Mallard Pond Duck Club on the Llano Seco Ranch. He started Butte Creek Gun Club at Rancho Esquon in 1981. His duck club added 1500 acres of the most pristine private water-fowl habitat in the pacific northwest. For the next 18 years, Larry developed and managed the waterfowl habitat and hunting program and was the personal guide to Rancho Esquon's owner, Ken Hoffman. He also enjoyed developing and expanding youth hunting programs and the number of children who learned to hunt with Larry are countless. He spoke fluent duck. Larry loved having coffee every morning at the Chatterbox with all of his Durham buddies, and he spent the evenings catching up on Duck Dynasty, The Big Bang Theory, Fox News, and the Weather Channel. He was so proud of his home, Durham, and enjoyed attending football and baseball games and school events where he cheered on his grandkids. They will always miss their "Papa Nut" (aka Grumpy). A celebration of Larry's life is planned for Monday, December 30th at 12:00 at the Chico Elks Lodge with a luncheon to follow. If you plan to attend Larry's memorial, please wear camo or casual dress in honor of his life's work. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Durham Colisuem Fund can be sent to P.O. Box 122 Durham, CA 95938. Condolences may be made to the family online at www.BrusieFH.com