September 29, 1915 – June 6, 2014 Neomah Olean “Bill” Merrell, 98, a long-time resident of Wolfe City, Texas, passed away on Friday, June 6, 2014, at Briarcliff Healthcare Center of Greenville.
Funeral services will be Monday, June 9, 2014, at 2:00 PM. at Owens Funeral Home Chapel in Wolfe City with Brother Tim Hearn officiating. Burial will follow at Mt Carmel Cemetery in Wolfe City.
Visitation will be at 1:00 PM until service begins.
Neomah was born September 29, 1915, on a farm in the Hunt County rural community of Hickory Creek to James David Duncan and Icie Mae (Crawley) Duncan Walker. She was the oldest of four children.
She began her education at Crescent School and attended Prairie Hill School through the ninth grade. She graduated from Celeste High School in 1934. She married Garland Merrell on December 5, 1934. They were married a few days short of sixty-two years. They lived their married life in Wolfe City. It was her husband who nicknamed her “Bill.”
When Neomah was nine years old, she accepted Jesus into her life at a tabernacle revival meeting in Taylorville, north of Leonard. This began her lifetime of faithful service to the Lord and to her churches. She joined the First Baptist Church of Wolfe City in 1946, and the next week began teaching beginners and primaries in Sunday school. She found joy as a leader of Girls in Action, taking them to GA camp for a week each summer. She also worked in Vacation Bible School, W.M.U., and volunteered as a cook at Lake Lavon Baptist Encampment in the summer.
Aside from her love for her church children, she enjoyed her travel trailer, fishing, and sewing. She was an accomplished seamstress. She also was an avid fan of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys. If she wasn’t watching their games on television, she was reading about them in the sports page. At the age of 97, she had the pleasure of meeting Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers.
Mrs. Merrell was a loving, caring person with a positive attitude and many friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Garland Merrell; her parents; a step-father, Leslie Lynn Walker; her brother, Joe Duncan, Sr., and her sister, Ruth (Duncan) Walker.
She is survived by her sister, Winnie (Duncan) Evans of Celeste, Texas, and her sister-in-law, Della (Merrell) Smith of McKinney, Texas.
Although Neomah never had children of her own, she is survived by a large number of nieces and nephews who loved her, as did many special friends.
R. W. Owens & Son Funeral Home of Wolfe City is in charge of arrangements.