Vincent Nichols Merrill

MERRILL, Vincent Nichols 96, longtime Boston landscape architect, passed away on January 11, 2009 in Plymouth, MA. Mr. Merrill graduated from Dartmouth College in 1933 with a BA in comparative Literature, and from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1935 with a Master's in Landscape Architecture. He worked in the office of noted landscape architect Arthur A. Shurcliff until 1942, when he was commissioned in the United States Army as a platoon leader, providing camouflage service in the European Theater until VE Day. He was discharged with the rank of Captain in 1946. After the war, he rejoined Shurcliff's firm and subsequently became a partner in the firm which was renamed Shurcliff and Merrill. Mr. Merrill's practice encompassed not only private gardens and landscape restorations, but also the planning of public parks, college campuses and other public facilities including the Boston Public Gardens. He received awards presented to him by First Ladies Patricia Nixon and Rosalyn Carter in recognition of his efforts to beautify America. Mr. Merrill was a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, past president and Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and a founder, board member and trustee of the Charles River Watershed Association. Mr. Merrill was preceded in death by his first wife, Anna Swanson Merrill, who died in 1996 after 53 years of marriage and his second wife, Natalie Prentice Merrill, who died in 2003 after 5 years of marriage. He was preceded in death by his parents, Rev. Charles C. and Bessie Merrill, and his brother John Leverett Merrill. He will be greatly missed by the Merrill, Swanson and Prentice families. A funeral service will be held at The First Parish Church in Lincoln, Lincoln, MA on January 31, 2009 at 2 pm. A private interment will be later in the year in Haverhill, NH. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Vincent's honor to the Charles River Watershed Assoc., 190 Park Road, Weston, MA 02493, or The Scandinavian Living Center, 206 Waltham Street, West Newton, MA 02465. Deware Funeral Home Quincy, MA (617) 472-11376