Vera Benson Merrill

Vera Merrill Obituary
Belvedere, SC.Mrs. Vera Mae Benson Merrill entered into rest at her residence on June 11, 2024 at the age of 97.
She was born October 21, 1926 in Ocilla, GA to the late Moses Hill Benson and Rosalee Padgett Benson.
Vera played softball and basketball in elementary school and high school. She attended Ocilla High School and the Southern Business University in Atlanta, GA. She then worked as a secretary for the Frame Company, a heating and air conditioning company in Atlanta, for three years.
In Atlanta, she was a member of the First Baptist Church, and attended Sunday School and joined the Baptist Training Union. While attending a BTU bowling party and waiting for a bowling lane, Vera met her future friend, love, and husband, Paul Franklin Merrill of Newberry, SC. They were married in Atlanta in August of 1947 and enjoyed 63 years together before his passing in August of 2010.
Paul transferred from Georgia Tech to a teacher's college in Menomonie, WI for three years. There, Vera worked for the Presto Cooker Company and for Sanna Dairies. After three cold Wisconsin winters, the Merrills came to Augusta, GA. Paul worked as an industrial arts teacher for two years before being employed at E.I. DuPont in Aiken; Vera worked as a bookkeeper for twenty-five years, both for Pontiac Master Auto Service in Augusta and for Pontiac Aiken.
In 1955, the Merrills moved to Belvedere and became members of Bel Ridge Baptist Church. Vera was an Honorary Member of Ruth Sunday School Class, and a member of the Peggy Jackson Mission Group. She was also a member of the North Augusta Rec Center for several years. Vera loved travelling, walking, reading, and sports. She loved the Lord, and she loved her family. She will be remembered as a wonderful and loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
In addition to her parents and her husband, Vera was preceded in death by a brother, Cecil Benson and his son David, and by a grandson, Zach Mullan.
Left to cherish her memory are four children, Robert K. Merrill of Belvedere, SC, Trish Mullan (Jimmy) of Belvedere, SC, Linda Smith of Beech Island, SC, and Teresa Billingsley of Bloomington, IN; nine grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren: Heather Merrill Powers (Brent) of Columbia, SC, and their children Emma Grace, Bryce, and Molly Powers; Jennifer (Smith) Rogers (Bill) of Warrenville, SC, and their children Hayden, Chase, and Liam Rogers; Daniel Smith of Beech Island, SC, and his son Preston Smith; Jessica Mullan Pierce (Josh) of North Augusta, SC, and their children Olivia and Norah Pierce; Robert Merrill Jr. (LuLu) of Rock Hill, SC, and their children Robert Merrill III, Timmy, and Eliana Merrill; William Merrill of Rock Hill, SC; Cody Billingsley of Seattle, WA; Savannah Billingsley Curry (Joseph) of Bloomington, IN; and Lizzie Billingsley of Bloomington, IN; two nephews, Edwin and Tommy (Teresa) Benson; and several cousins.
Funeral services will be held in the Rowland-Ford Funeral Home Chapel on Monday, June 17 at 11:00 AM. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. Interment in Pineview Memorial Gardens will follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Vera's memory may be made to the Connie Maxwell Children's Home, 810 Maxwell Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646, or to Bel-Ridge Baptist Church, 108 Monterey Avenue, Belvedere, SC 29841.
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