She loved driving the winding roads and admiring the Texas landscape, just as she loved spending time with her dogs, traveling with Jay, and staying politically active through the Wimberley Democrats
Editor's note: Ann was truly a delightful person to be around, fun-loving and wise. She will be missed.
After a long struggle with a rare neurological disease, Ann Merritt, 75, of Woodcreek, TX, died Wednesday, July 11, 2012, at the Deer Creek Nursing Center in Wimberley. Feisty, funny, and clever, Ann always enlivened social gatherings with her wit, energy, and good natured-humor.Ann was born on April 10, 1937, to Marian and Harry Merritt, and raised in Houston, TX. In 1955, she graduated from Lamar High School, and then in 1959 completed her bachelor's degree in economics at Smith College. After graduation she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked for Bank of America and married Nelson McClung, an economist working at the Federal Reserve. Ann and Nelson lived in Sausalito for two years before moving to Washington, DC, where they had a son, Andrew, in 1963. However, the marriage did not last, and Ann returned to Houston, working at NASA and getting involved in the politics of equal rights for women. Ann enjoyed the intellectual atmosphere of NASA, but her career focus on fairness in hiring took her to New Orleans in 1975, working for the Department of Defense. There, she met and married Jay Strickler, who managed a steel container plant.
Ann and Jay bought a house together and enjoyed living in New Orleans, but in 1984 the container plant was closed, so they bought a Dutch houseboat in the Netherlands and began their next adventure overseas. The boat let them travel the inland waterways of Europe for nearly five years, from the Netherlands to Paris and the south of France, and making friends among the international expatriates they met along the way. In late 1988, seeking more stability on solid ground, Ann and Jay moved to Austin, where they lived for almost 10 years before moving to the Wimberley area in 1998.
Ann had always loved the Texas Hill Country, since her family spent summer vacations near Junction when she was a child. This last move gave her a chance to renew and strengthen friendships from her high school days at Lamar. She loved driving the winding roads and admiring the Texas landscape, just as she loved spending time with her dogs, traveling with Jay, and staying politically active through the Wimberley Democrats.
Ann is survived by her husband of 32 years, Jay Strickler; brother, Harry Merritt, Jr., of Mobile, AL; and son, Andrew. She leaves behind a large, diverse assortment of friends, and will be greatly missed.
A memorial service and reception will be held Sunday, August 19, 2012, at 4pm, at the Leaning Pear restaurant in Wimberley, TX. Those who plan to attend are requested to contact the family beforehand at annmerrittmemorial@yahoo.com. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, to promote the natural splendor of the Texas hill country.
2 comments:
Independent Voters, even some Texans, are clearly realizing the Republican Party has become a dysfunctional political movement that only works in the Bible Belt South and Midwest.
And hopefully the national media will quite being lazy brown nosers and start pointing out the lies and hypocrisy of both parties.
However, if they do that, Obama will be re-elected by a 5% margin simply because economically he cares more about the middle class, while Romney and his cronies are in the race to protect the interest of elite corporate shareholders and their business elite.
And Obama is not out to repress women and minorities with big government white male Christian guilt.
Either way, we are headed to a new recession no matter who gets in the White House.
This post should have been sent to the Nutty Presidential Campaign.comments.
Sorry Ann, although I know you agree with this post.
Post a Comment