Virginia Lee Merrill CROWLEY--Virginia Lee Merrill, 85, passed from this life at home, with loved ones by her side on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. INURNMENT: Glen Rose Cemetery, with a celebration of life at a later date. MEMORIALS: Her memory may be honored with a gift to the John and Virginia Merrill Scholarship endowment at Ranch Management Program, TCU Box 297420, Fort Worth, TX 76129. Virginia was born to William Luther and Frances Kimmel Knight on May 4, 1932. She graduated from Glen Rose High School, Tarleton State University, and Texas Christian University. On Sept. 6, 1952, Virginia married John Merrill and spent the next 65 years as his beloved wife, lover, partner, and friend. She was a dedicated homemaker who nurtured three children on the family ranch in Tarrant County, and she imbued them, by example, with a love of books and an avid interest in every aspect of the world around them. She was involved in the ranch work and bookkeeping. Virginia was the personification of an open heart, which was so apparent to others that strangers would come to her in the grocery store to share their life stories. Her children and grandchildren absolutely adored her, as did her extended family. We celebrate a life well lived and well loved. SURVIVORS: Her husband; children, Suzanne Allard, John Merrill Jr., and Will Merrill; and grandchildren, Jason Allard, Catherine Avery, and Ginnie Merrill.