John Hooper Merrill

The family of John Hooper Merrill announces the passing of their father and grandfather on Monday, February 3, 2025 at Hartford Hospital, surrounded by family, after a short illness. John was born on March 25, 1934 in Philadelphia, PA, the third son of George Richman Merrill and Harriet Rebecca Alderton Merrill.
John grew up in Yeadon, PA attending the Bell Avenue School and graduated Yeadon High School in 1952. While in high school he worked at John Wanamaker Department Store as a stock boy. Prior to heading off to Swarthmore College, he worked as a camp counselor at Camp Miller, Shawnee on Delaware. In 1956 he graduated from Swarthmore with an Electrical Engineering degree and then enrolled in Wharton Graduate Division of the University of Pennsylvania and obtained his Masters in Business Administration in 1958.
John joined Hamilton Standard in Windsor Locks, CT as a tech rep in 1958. While there he worked at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska, Lockheed in Marietta, Georgia and Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1966, he joined IBM in Hartford, CT as a Systems Engineer and retired in 1997. Some of his database clients were large insurance companies such as Connecticut Mutual Life, Aetna, Hartford Insurance Group and Travelers. In 1973 he had a business trip to Japan for several weeks just before Christmas which made that Christmas a very special one in our house with his return and all of the special gifts he brought back.
John met our mother, Marcia Helen Wheeler, in the Fireside Group, for singles, at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford. They were married on April 14, 1962 by the endearing Rev. Theodore Knapp. They purchased their home on Overlook Drive in Windsor in 1965 and subsequently welcomed two children, first a daughter Deborah and two years later a son Kenneth.
In the early 70s John became involved with Immanuel House in Hartford. He subsequently became a Board member in which he took on the role of President for many years. He released those responsibilities just three years ago.
During retirement John immersed himself in volunteer work doing tax consulting for AARP/IRS for the towns of Bloomfield and Windsor, meeting and making many friends along the way. For many years, after service at First Church Windsor each Sunday, he was part of a group that would go to the local McDonalds and have lunch or coffee.
He was also involved with ROMEO - Retired Old Men Eating Out, from 2007 until 2020 when COVID hit, arranging the meetings, speakers, the venue and tracking attendance and factoids along the way.
Being a very organized person and quite knowledgeable with computers he would document everything. Spreadsheets were his favorite. In retirement John and Marcia traveled many places throughout New England and the United States as well as taking several cruises, most notably Alaska.
Retirement also afforded John the time to take up reading, very much like his mother. He would always have a stack of books at his bedside and was a frequent visitor of the Windsor Public Library.
In November 2019, John moved to Seabury in Bloomfield. Marcia had passed three years before and he was ready to downsize. He enjoyed a little bit of freedom there until COVID hit the following March and he was sequestered in his new apartment. Once the bans were lifted though he involved himself with what he enjoyed there, morning coffee with a group of people, walks around the campus, music at the Top of the Stairs and other programs. Again making many friends and acquaintances. That was John.
John leaves behind his daughter Deborah and her husband David, of Canton, CT and their three children, Julia, Anna and Nathan. And his son Kenneth and his wife Edith of Wethersfield, CT. He also leaves several nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great great nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his bride Marcia in 2016, his brother George Ivan in infancy in 1931, his brother Frank in 2017 and a grandson David Jonah at birth in 1999.
John was a kind and gentle soul. He never liked to ruffle feathers. His smile warmed your heart. His eyes sparkled when his family visited, especially his grandchildren, or when he joked or teased. He will be missed tremendously by his family but we rejoice in knowing that he is now with his bride Marcia and no longer in pain.
John's family will receive friends on Thursday, February 13, 2025 from 4-7 p.m. at Carmon Funeral Home, 807 Bloomfield Ave., Windsor, CT 06095. His memorial service will be Friday, February 14, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at First Church Windsor, 107 Palisado Ave, Windsor, CT. Burial will be private with the family immediately after the service. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to: Alzheimer's Association Connecticut Chapter, 200 Executive Blvd, Suite 4B, Southington, CT 06489 or Seabury Charitable Foundation 200 Seabury Dr. Bloomfield, CT 06002. (This enhances the lives of Seabury residents.)