RAYMOND MERRITT

MERRITT--Raymond Walter Esq., widely described as a true Renaissance Man, had family roots in Sag Harbor dating back seven decades. He passed away peacefully in his sleep at his North Haven home on November 10th, 2023 due to natural causes. An influential attorney and partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP, a prominent NYC law firm, he retired in 2004. A native New Yorker, Merritt was the son of Raymond and Mildred (Bernoski) Merritt and grew up in East Williston on Long Island's north shore. He is survived by his wife Carol Ann; son Ray, his wife Anne of Summit, NJ; daughter Kimberly Quinn, her husband Brian of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; and five grandchildren. He was a dedicated champion of children, working as a member of the Executive Committee of UNICEF and was Founder of the Cygnet Foundation, whose mission is to help those who can't help themselves - children and animals. Merritt served as a trustee of the International Center for Photography and was a member of the photography committees for the Guggenheim, Whitney, and Norton Art Museums. He first experienced Sag Harbor in a summer home his parents owned in the mid-1950s. He met Carol, his future wife, when he worked in the snack bar at Sag Harbor's Long Beach 70 years before his passing. They fell in love that summer, married in 1960 and were together till the day he passed. Merritt graduated with honors from Chaminade High School on Long Island, Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA, and Columbia Law School. He was hired by Willkie in 1963. At the firm, Merritt earned a reputation as a trusted advisor to clients and young lawyers starting their careers. Merritt leaves behind a wide circle of friends, admirers, and loved ones who find it difficult to grasp that his animating flame has been extinguished.