David Merriman

1941 - 2024

David Woods Merriman passed away peacefully on August 6th, 2024 surrounded by his family in Gulf Stream, Florida.

Born in Providence, RI in 1941 to Howard Richmond Merriman and Anne Kilvert Merriman, he was the youngest of three sons. David attended Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. and St. George's School in Newport, RI before graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received both his undergraduate and MBA degrees. He was a talented and aggressive ice hockey player, both at St. George's and Penn. He was also a member of First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry aka "The Troop".

Upon graduating with his Wharton MBA, he could have pursued his family's business of investment management or banking. He tried it for a while at Blythe and Co, but tired of it because he viewed investing as the "storage business". He preferred the rough and ready world of commodity trading on the floor of the COMEX, which he affectionately referred to as the "moving business." The COMEX was where he earned the nickname "Brave Dave" and where he spent his early career as a successful gold trader.

Always game for new experiences, David moved his family from NYC to London in the mid 1980s for a two year family adventure. Two years turned into two decades. David's curiosity and his easy going, unassuming nature earned him friends from all walks of life. He was equally at home with Wall Street moguls and English swells as he was with the local fisherman whom he met weekly for happy hour in Little Compton, RI.

Ever a gentleman BUT a troublemaker when called for, his golfing friends relished his antics on the green and his colorful storytelling. Charismatic with a free wheeling sense of humor, a cunning charades player and a devil on the dance floor, David was the life of any party, as popular amongst the younger generations as he was amongst his peers.



While he loved his years in London and his world travels, his favorite home was the tiny RI town of Little Compton ,where he had deep family roots ,and his beloved home, Sealands. He was a member and on the boards of the Sakonnet Golf Club, the Sakonnet Yacht Club. He sailed competitively with his parents and brother, Hap, as a child on The Blossom, the family Alden sailboat, and in later life he and Hap would alternate as skipper of The Blossom, winning the trophy most every year. In the late 1980's he and two friends bought Sakonnet Point and later developed it into what became the Sakonnet Point Club and Marina.

For all his accomplishments, David was a man of simple pleasures. Playing with his dog or finding a few golf balls in the rough lit him up like a Christmas tree.

David is survived by his devoted wife ,Jenny, of 46 years, his daughter Serena and her two children Nicholas and Annabel Alvarado and a son, Charles "Duke" and his dedicated caregiver and companion ,Diana Dorflinger. His two cherished brothers, Howard and Alex predeceased him.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Little Compton, RI at the Sakonnet Golf Club Playhouse from 4 to 6 PM on August 31st.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to either Dana Farber Hospital in Boston or to Unite the World with Africa Foundation.

https://www.uniteafricafoundation.org/donate