MERIT A. POOL Sr.

Merit A. Pool, Sr., died Thursday, December 31, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo., at the age of 87. He was born April 13, 1922, in Hot Springs, S.D., the eldest of three. He lived in Hot Springs until enlisting during World War II. He served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945 in the Mediterranean in Algeria, Iran, Tunisia and Italy. Merit graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines in 1949. He moved in 1950 to Kansas City, where he was employed by Black and Veatch as an electrical engineer for 52 years. He was active in the Boy Scouts for nearly all his life and attended Grandview Assembly of God the last 40-plus years. He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Gloria, in 2001. He is survived by a brother, Marion; sister Martha Anderson; five sons, Merit Jr., Paul, Robert, Kevin and Tim; six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, January 5, and funeral services 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 6, both at the Park Lawn Chapel, Hillcrest Road at 83rd Street. Private burial in Maple Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Grandview Assembly of God. Arrangements: Park Lawn Funeral Home, (816) 523-1234.