Sylvia Merrill

Sylvia Merrill, 105, of Columbia, Mo., passed away Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012, in Columbia. She was born Feb. 4, 1907, to Thomas and Goldie (Creighton) Hughes at Fisk in Richland Township, Adair County, Iowa. She graduated from Richland High School in 1925, then took a Normal Training Course at the teachers college in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She taught in a one-room country school in Eureka Township, Adair County, Iowa. Sylvia was united in marriage to Lawrence Franklin Merrill, May 31, 1927, at Creston, Iowa. During the Depression years, Lawrence was employed as a barber wherever he could get work. They eventually settled in Greenfield, Iowa, where they lived until Lawrence retired in 1968. They then moved to Springdale, Ark., where Sylvia lived for 38 years. She belonged to the First United Methodist Church, a quilters group, the Friendly Neighbors Extension Club and delivered Meals on Wheels. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting and watching college basketball on television. For her 101st birthday, she attended her first college basketball game at the University of Missouri. She also loved to read and after her vision deteriorated she received talking books from the Services for the Blind. She was one of the first patrons to get the new digital player. In 2006, Sylvia moved to Columbia to live with her daughter and son in law. She remained independent, resourceful and active during her lifetime. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Lawrence in 1986; an infant daughter in 1940; a brother, Charles; a half brother, Edward Dickey; and her great-grandson, Riley Degginger. Surviving are her daughter and son-in-law, Janet and Louis Degginger; two grandchildren, Laura and Dean Fjelstul of Redwood City, Calif., and Mary Ann and Andrew Degginger; and a great-grand daughter, Micah Ann, all of Granby, Colo. Graveside memorial services will be in Springdale, Ark., at Bluff Cemetery at 2 p.m., Oct. 20, 2012, with the Rev. Judy VanHoose officiating under the direction of Memorial Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Wolfner Talking Book and Braille Library for the Blind. Checks may be made payable to the Wolfner Library Trust Fund and forwarded to the Wolfner Library at P.O. Box 387, Jefferson City, MO 65102.