It's fitting that a man who grew up during the Great Depression and went to work at age 12 would spend his life finding frugal solutions for the government.
Charles Stanley Merriman, who was born Dec. 23, 1928, in Dallas, started working in a grain mill to help his family make ends meet.
"Times were tough back then," son Charles Merriman Jr. of Fort Worth said Friday.
Mr. Merriman eventually found financial and professional success working for the General Services Administration in Fort Worth.
He died Monday at an assisted-living center in Fort Worth. He had had cancer for about 18 months. He was 77.
Mr. Merriman was an Army medic in the Korean War. Afterward, he returned to the area and married his high school sweetheart, Bette. He went to work for the GSA in Fort Worth, eventually becoming data systems director.
Mr. Merriman's family always came first, his son said, but he tried to teach them conservative habits, even when it came to food. His motto: If you ordered it, you ate it.
And even his gifts conveyed a lesson of thrift. "Christmases were always real special for us," Charles Merriman said. "He'd come up with a unique event for Christmas each year.
"One time he made a bunch of money trees and tied on dollar bills. He told us [that] if we watered them, they'd grow. It was his way of teaching us to save money."
His lesson is now a multigenerational tradition in the Merriman family.
Until last year, Mr. Merriman never missed a Colonial golf tournament, his son said. And he cheered year-round for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
Other survivors include his wife; a daughter, Judith Merriman of Sunset; three sisters; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Funeral - 11:30 a.m. today at Greenwood Funeral Home at White Settlement Road and University Drive.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) - Saturday, September 9, 2006
Charles Stanley Merriman, who was born Dec. 23, 1928, in Dallas, started working in a grain mill to help his family make ends meet.
"Times were tough back then," son Charles Merriman Jr. of Fort Worth said Friday.
Mr. Merriman eventually found financial and professional success working for the General Services Administration in Fort Worth.
He died Monday at an assisted-living center in Fort Worth. He had had cancer for about 18 months. He was 77.
Mr. Merriman was an Army medic in the Korean War. Afterward, he returned to the area and married his high school sweetheart, Bette. He went to work for the GSA in Fort Worth, eventually becoming data systems director.
Mr. Merriman's family always came first, his son said, but he tried to teach them conservative habits, even when it came to food. His motto: If you ordered it, you ate it.
And even his gifts conveyed a lesson of thrift. "Christmases were always real special for us," Charles Merriman said. "He'd come up with a unique event for Christmas each year.
"One time he made a bunch of money trees and tied on dollar bills. He told us [that] if we watered them, they'd grow. It was his way of teaching us to save money."
His lesson is now a multigenerational tradition in the Merriman family.
Until last year, Mr. Merriman never missed a Colonial golf tournament, his son said. And he cheered year-round for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
Other survivors include his wife; a daughter, Judith Merriman of Sunset; three sisters; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Funeral - 11:30 a.m. today at Greenwood Funeral Home at White Settlement Road and University Drive.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) - Saturday, September 9, 2006
It's fitting that a man who grew up during the Great Depression and went to work at age 12 would spend his life finding frugal solutions for the government.
Charles Stanley Merriman, who was born Dec. 23, 1928, in Dallas, started working in a grain mill to help his family make ends meet.
"Times were tough back then," son Charles Merriman Jr. of Fort Worth said Friday.
Mr. Merriman eventually found financial and professional success working for the General Services Administration in Fort Worth.
He died Monday at an assisted-living center in Fort Worth. He had had cancer for about 18 months. He was 77.
Mr. Merriman was an Army medic in the Korean War. Afterward, he returned to the area and married his high school sweetheart, Bette. He went to work for the GSA in Fort Worth, eventually becoming data systems director.
Mr. Merriman's family always came first, his son said, but he tried to teach them conservative habits, even when it came to food. His motto: If you ordered it, you ate it.
And even his gifts conveyed a lesson of thrift. "Christmases were always real special for us," Charles Merriman said. "He'd come up with a unique event for Christmas each year.
"One time he made a bunch of money trees and tied on dollar bills. He told us [that] if we watered them, they'd grow. It was his way of teaching us to save money."
His lesson is now a multigenerational tradition in the Merriman family.
Until last year, Mr. Merriman never missed a Colonial golf tournament, his son said. And he cheered year-round for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
Other survivors include his wife; a daughter, Judith Merriman of Sunset; three sisters; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Funeral - 11:30 a.m. today at Greenwood Funeral Home at White Settlement Road and University Drive.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) - Saturday, September 9, 2006
Charles Stanley Merriman, who was born Dec. 23, 1928, in Dallas, started working in a grain mill to help his family make ends meet.
"Times were tough back then," son Charles Merriman Jr. of Fort Worth said Friday.
Mr. Merriman eventually found financial and professional success working for the General Services Administration in Fort Worth.
He died Monday at an assisted-living center in Fort Worth. He had had cancer for about 18 months. He was 77.
Mr. Merriman was an Army medic in the Korean War. Afterward, he returned to the area and married his high school sweetheart, Bette. He went to work for the GSA in Fort Worth, eventually becoming data systems director.
Mr. Merriman's family always came first, his son said, but he tried to teach them conservative habits, even when it came to food. His motto: If you ordered it, you ate it.
And even his gifts conveyed a lesson of thrift. "Christmases were always real special for us," Charles Merriman said. "He'd come up with a unique event for Christmas each year.
"One time he made a bunch of money trees and tied on dollar bills. He told us [that] if we watered them, they'd grow. It was his way of teaching us to save money."
His lesson is now a multigenerational tradition in the Merriman family.
Until last year, Mr. Merriman never missed a Colonial golf tournament, his son said. And he cheered year-round for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
Other survivors include his wife; a daughter, Judith Merriman of Sunset; three sisters; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Funeral - 11:30 a.m. today at Greenwood Funeral Home at White Settlement Road and University Drive.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) - Saturday, September 9, 2006
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