Merlin E. Prall

Merlin E. Prall, 86, died Monday, May 6, 2024 at his home in Granger. A memorial service will be held 11:00 am Saturday, May 11th at Granger United Methodist Church, where the family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. A private burial will take place at Woodward Cemetery at a later date.
Merlin was born November 15, 1937 in Carlisle, Iowa to Dale and Marie (Buchanan) Prall. He was the middle of the pack in a family of 9 children growing up in a small house in the country. As a youngster, he enjoyed trapping with his dad and tried his hand at leather tooling. When he started driving, he found his passion in fast cars. He won several trophies while drag racing. His grandkids loved hearing his stories about his wild racing days, especially the one about the night he "outran" the cops.
Merlin proudly served in the Army starting in 1960, and was honorably discharged in 1962. It was an honor to him that he was selected to drive the Generals.
In 1963, Merlin met the love of his life, Nancy Finestead. They were married in October of 1964, and were blessed with 3 daughters. That's when Merlin started having selective hearing. Merlin was a plant supervisor for Pepsi for many years. He then left Pepsi for Beaver Valley Canning and retired from there. Merlin found a new passion in camping and took his family on many adventures. His favorite trips were going to the mountains and 4 Point Lake in Minnesota. One of his favorite trips was driving his motorhome to Alaska with Nancy, so much so they made that trip twice.
Merlin loved his grandkids and enjoyed watching all their sporting events and activities. He had a special knack for calming his grandkids and great-grandkids when they were young. He made a special connection with each grandchild. They will miss him dearly.
Merlin was a die-hard Hawkeye fan and loved watching Nascar and westerns. He enjoyed listening to country and harmonica music. Merlin was also very active in the Granger Disciples of Christ Christian Church, where he served as an Elder.
Survivors include his wife: Nancy; three daughters: Rhonda (Brad) Pauly of Hermosa, SD, Sherri (Lance) Ingle of Granger, Jennifer (Jeff) Manning of Granger; grandchildren: Chelsi Berry (Tyler Hill), Amanda Berry (Jeff Glatz), Ty Pauly, Wyatt Pauly, David (Beth) Ingle, Rachel (Deven) Voelker, Rebecca Ingle, James Ingle, Victoria (Cole) Ashman, Joseph Manning, & Jared Manning; great grandchildren: Adalyn Ingle, Haisley Ashman; siblings: Marvin Prall, Larry Prall, Ronnie Prall. Merlin is preceded in death by his parents; siblings: Joan Batten, Duane Prall, Betty Gardner, Jeanette Shetterly, Edward Prall.
Memorial contributions may be made to the City of Granger.
Online condolences are welcome at www.IlesCares.com.
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