Jane Merrill

A memorial service for Jane Merrill, 69, Ottawa, will be at 6 p.m. May 9 at the Lawrence Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Ave.
She died Saturday, April 30, 2011, due to complications from a stroke in 1996.
She was born Feb. 19, 1942, the daughter of Evelyn Jordan Merrill and James Merrill.
She graduated from George Washington High School in Washington, D.C., and attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
She was a newspaper reporter for the Holden Progress, the Savannah Reporter, the St. Joseph News-Press and several daily papers near Tampa, Fla. She worked for Johnson County Social and Rehabilitative Services for four years before retiring in 1996.
She enjoyed working with children and was active in the community, working with schools, PTA, sports clubs and Girl Scouts. Ms. Merrill enjoyed reading, traveling, politics and playing bridge.
Survivors include a daughter, Sherry Tamerius and husband Glenn, Lawrence; a son, Michael Grothusen and wife Nancy McDonald, Philadelphia; four grandchildren; former husband, John Grothusen; and two brothers, Hugh Merrill, Kansas City area, and James Merrill, Monkton, Md.
She was preceded her in death by her parents.
The family suggests memorials to Holden Sports Association, P.O. Box 232, Holden, MO 64040
Online condolences may be sent at butlerandsonfuneralhome.com.