Robert C. Merritt

Robert C. Merritt was born in Denver, Colorado on July 18, 1921 to Howard Merritt and Mary Estelle Merritt (Parnell). During his early years, his father's jobs took the family to Houston and San Francisco; but Bob never forgot Colorado. Always fascinated by aviation, Bob trained to become a pilot, and served in the 8th Air Force during World War II. Piloting a C47, Bob flew many missions, some secret—transporting men and material throughout the European Theater. His honorable service to our country was also recognized by the Swedish government upon the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, when he and others from the U.S. armed services were hosted at formal ceremonies in Stockholm. Upon returning to civilian life, Bob enrolled in the Colorado School of Mines, and completed his studies to become a metallurgical engineer. His first jobs involved work in Pittsburgh and Laramie. Early in his career, he found his opportunity to return to Colorado—accepting a position with the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute. He completed thirty years with the Institute, retiring in 1984. During his time with the Institute, he developed a specialty in uranium processing. This work took him to eastern Europe and to Peru to work with local mining interests, and resulted in his authoring The Extractive Metallurgy of Uranium in 1971—a text that is used by uranium interests to this day. He was recognized as a Distinguished Member by the Society of Mining Engineers of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers—a high honor bestowed on a select few within the industry. Bob met the love of his life, Imogene Neff on a blind date on Friday the 13th. Over the years, he frequently joked about how he, a rather skinny, plain-looking fellow was able to capture the interest of Ohio State University's Homecoming Queen. Regardless, the match was made, and Bob and Imogene married on June 4, 1949. Together they were parents to Cathy, Linda and Steve. Family was Bob's top priority, and over the years, many, many weekends were spent as a family sharing Bob's passion for outdoor activities. Bob's love of the outdoors in general, and of Colorado's splendor in particular, resulted in him becoming an avid skier, camper, 4-wheeler and fly fisherman. Into his 80's he and Imogene would enjoy backpacking into Colorado's back country in pursuit of personal peace, tranquility—and trout. While Bob and Imogene enjoyed their own specific interests, their lives were always closely aligned with many shared activities. They loved dancing to the music of the 1940's, and enjoyed frequent evenings at venues like the Trocadero. Together they immersed themselves in square dancing-- becoming members of the Polka Dots, Rolling Wheels, Jack of Diamonds and A Sharps—all Denver dance groups—where they would participate in dances as many as three nights a week. They also enjoyed travel—whether jeeping and camping in the mountains; or exploring Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Bob's love of flying led him to develop a strong interest in remote control aircraft. Not only did he enjoy flying the craft, but also designing and building them—employing his talents as an engineer—with an eye to scale, aeronautics, tensile strength and flawless, detailed craftsmanship. The best example of his passion involved the construction of a World War I Spad—designed and built from photos taken of an actual museum specimen housed in Arizona. His extensive research into the plane—its dimensions, materials, markings, etc., resulted in plans that were executed in a multi-year project that included many miniscule parts that Bob fashioned from obscure bits of metal and cable—producing a remarkable scale model that he donated to the Vintage Aero Flying Museum in Fort Lupton in 2008. His life was full. He fully understood the call for an individual to chart his own path, and to shape a good life with the resources available to him. He loved his family, which has grown to include: his wife of more than 59 years, Imogene Merritt of Lakewood; his children—Catherine Merritt of Lakewood; Linda Burkhardt of Greeley; and Steve Merritt of Anacortes, Washington; his grandchildren—Cori Phillips of Sacramento, California; Nathan Burkhardt of Grass Valley, California, and Barnabi Forsman and Torrey Merritt of Anacortes Washington; and great-grandson whom he had met for the first time this Christmas, Alex Burkhardt. Bob passed away peacefully at his Lakewood home on January 21, 2009. He will be forever loved and missed by his family, friends from the community and from his Jeep Club, square dance clubs, and flying group.