TITLE: Richard Ryan Merrick SOURCE: The Beaufort Gazette, May 30, 2001 SUBMITTED: The Beaufort Gazette FORMATTED: Kim Grissom, May 2001 *********************************************************************** Richard Ryan Merrick 1st Lt. Richard Ryan Merrick, 23, of Bluffton, died Monday, May 28, 2001, at Hilton Head Island. The family will receive visitors from 6 to 8 p.m. today with a wake at 7 p.m. at Saint Gregory The Great, 333 Fording Island Road in Bluffton. A funeral liturgy will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday at Saint Gregory The Great, with burial following in Pinckney Family Cemetery, Bluffton. Lt. Merrick was born June 16, 1977, in Savannah, a son of Charles Edwin Merrick and Diane Sinclair Merrick. He was a 1997 honor graduate of Hilton Head High School and graduated in 1999 from Presbyterian College. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army following graduation. He was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery Regiment, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was a member of Church of the Cross in Bluffton and a member of the youth group at Bluffton United Methodist Church. He was active in sports, including football and wrestling. Surviving are his parents of Bluffton; a brother, Charles Edwin Merrick of Bluffton; a sister, Christine Gahn of Grand Canyon, Colo.; a paternal grandmother, Mary O. Merrick Keister of Bluffton; his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Sinclair, Concord, N.C.. The family suggests those who wish may make memorials to Phi Kappa Epsom at Presbyterian College, 403 South Adair St., Clinton SC 29325. Sauls Funeral Home, Ridgeland, is in charge. (The Beaufort Gazette May 30, 2001) First Lt. Richard (Ryan) Merrick, Bluffton, S.C., 23, died Monday, May 28, 2001, in Hilton Head, S.C., in a car accident. He was born June 16, 1977, in Savannah, Ga., the son of Charles Edwin Merrick, Bluffton, S.C., and Diane Sinclair Merrick, Bluffton, S.C. He was enlisted in the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant and stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was a member of the Church of the Cross, Bluffton, S.C., and a member of the Youth Group at Bluffton United Methodist Church. He was active in sports, including football and wrestling. He was a 1997 honor graduate of Hilton Head High School and graduated in 1999 with a business degree from Presbyterian College. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army following graduation. Survivors include, father, Charles Edwin Merrick, Bluffton, S.C.; mother, Diane Sinclair Merrick, Bluffton, S.C.; one brother, Charles Edwin Merrick, III, Bluffton, S.C.; one sister, Christine Gahn, Grand Canyon, Colo.; paternal grandmother, Mary O. Merrick Keister, Bluffton, S.C.; maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Sinclair, Concord, N.C.; 15 aunts and uncles and 19 first cousins. Funeral services will be at Saint Gregory the Great, 333 Fording Island Road, Bluffton, S.C. Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Thursday, May 31, 2001. Burial in Pinckney Family Cemetery, Bluffton, S.C. Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 30, 2001, with a wake at 7 p.m., Saint Gregory the Great, Bluffton, S.C. Memorials may be sent to Phi Kappa Epsom at Presbyterian College, 403 S. Adair St., Clinton, S.C. 29325. (The Post and Courier May 30, 2001) *********************************************************************** NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. *********************************************************************** The USGenWeb project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.