Ralph Thomas Merritt

Ralph Thomas Merritt, 88, of Flatwoods passed away, March 19, 2018 in Cabell Huntington Hospital.

Mr. Merritt was born April 25, 1929 to the late Lacy and Reable Merritt in Blair, WV.

In addition to his parents,  he is preceded in death by six siblings, Charles Merritt, Kenneth Merritt,     Lois Farley, Mary Lautzenheiser, Ann Frances Gascon, and John L. Merritt.

Tom was a born-again Christian and attended Raceland Christian Church. After graduating from West Virginia University, he went to work for Amherst Coal Company as a structural engineer. He then accepted a job, which took him to the Kennedy Space Center in FL, where he designed and worked on multiple missile and defense projects. During his career, Tom was chosen to go to Germany several times to interface with German engineers on their projects. He also worked in various positions in Morgantown, WV, Denver, CO, and Los Angeles, CA.  Afterwards he moved to Washington, DC, to work on government defense projects. In 1992 Tom retired and moved to Flatwoods to be with family. As a young man in high school, Tom had played various sports, and he continued to enjoy following his favorite sports teams throughout his life.  He also enjoyed RV camping and traveling with his family, fly fishing and grouse hunting with his son, playing golf, listening to gospel music, and singing in the church choir.  

Left behind to carry on his legacy is his wife of 69 years, Eva Miller Merritt; one son, Adam Russell (Rebecca) Merritt; two daughters, Pamela Merritt Rufo and Vicki Merrit (Kimball) Taylor; one grandson, Staff Sargent Thomas Russell (Emilie) Merritt; two great-grandsons, Gauge and TJ Merritt; one sister, Dora Sabo; Family-In-Law, Mary Jane Rowe, Dr. Elmer and Ann Mullins Jr., Jim and Debbie Miller, along with a host of other nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be at 1:00 pm, Thursday, March 22, 2018 at Raceland Christian Church with Jason Lykins and Greg Denton officiating.  Burial will follow in Bellefonte Memorial Gardens.

Visitation will be after 11 am, Thursday at the Church.

Carman Funeral Home in Flatwoods is caring for arrangements.

In lieu of flowers donations are suggested to Raceland Christian Church or the Gideons International.