Merle Troy Combs

Merle Troy Combs
A cherished husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, and friend. Merle passed away peacefully in his West Salem home where he resided for the past 52 years. He went to Heaven on June 30th, 2025 at the age of 87 years old.
Merle was born on September 12th, 1937 to Banks and Kathern Combs in Rapid City, South Dakota. He had one sister, Illa, who proceeded him in death.
He moved to Kennewick, Washington in 1941 where he lived for the remainder of his childhood years. He attended Kennewick High School, where he met his soulmate, Barbara McGeough. Merle graduated in 1955 and a year later, he and Barbara married on December 26th, 1956. That was the same year that he began his career working for Sears, Roebuck and Company, where he started as a Service Technician.
Merle and Barbara had their first child, Carla, in 1958. The blessings continued with three more children, Ryan in 1960, Grant in 1962, and Curt in 1964.
In 1965, at the age of 28, he was promoted to the Service Manager at Sears in Washington. Four years later, he was offered the opportunity to move to Salem, Oregon to run an even larger service department. He worked for Sears until he retired in 1993. The quiet, retired life wasn't for him, so he went back to work as an installer for Sears and continued working until age 70.
Merle was a man who served the Lord for his entire life. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church for over 40 years, along side his wife, Barbara. Every night before bed, he would say the entire Rosary and pray for his family, friends, and community.
Throughout his years, besides taking care of his family, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping. He also had a special spot in his heart for the neighborhood squirrels. He built them houses and perches in all the trees of his backyard and even bought 800lbs of walnuts each year to feed them. He had a routine that all the squirrels were well aware of, every day at noon he would prepare the squirrel food cans to take out to the backyard. Right when he opened the garage door, the squirrels would come running. He will be missed by all, but especially by his backyard critters.
Merle is preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Barbara, who passed away in 2022. He is survived by his children: Carla (Gary), Ryan (Anja), Grant (Diane), and Curt (Kimanh), his grandchildren: