Mary Lucille Merrill

Name: Visitation
Start: 09/12/2020 08:00 AM
End: 09/12/2020 10:00 AM
Location: Callahan & Hughes Funeral Home

October 10, 1924 — September 7, 2020

Mary Lucille Zeigler Merrill, 95, died on Monday, September 7, 2020 at her home in Terre Haute. Lucille was born in Mansfield, Louisiana. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University in business where she was a member of Phi Mu sorority. After a short time working in business, she married her husband, Tom, in Shreveport, LA on February 2, 1946. The story of their short meeting in a small General Store in Pelican, LA as Tom's World War II troop train stopped for snacks was epic. They wrote to each other during the war and married after it.

After the war, Lucille and Tom moved to Terre Haute where she was instrumental in helping with the beginnings of Merrill and Merrill Insurance. Lucille was a long-time member of Central Presbyterian Church and had served as a Deacon. Tom and Lucille had two sons, Tom born in 1949 and Bill born in 1953. She then stayed at home and raised her two sons while her husband, Tom, worked in the insurance business.

Lucille played basketball and ran track in high school in Pelican, LA, and was an avid sports fan. She helped make sports of all kind integral to the upbringing of her sons. Lucille was a member of the Elks and played golf in the 9-hole ladies league for years. She was a lifetime member of the Sycamore Country Club and enjoyed volunteering with the Visiting Nurse Association. Lucille's favorite activity in the later years was playing in bridge clubs, many-times four days a week, and having a great social life with all she met.
She was forever a friend to all and never said a bad thing about others. Lucille wanted to get along with all. She loved her family and they loved her back.

Survivors include her sons, Tom (Jane) and Bill (Meg); four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two sisters, Marjorie Akins and Pricilla Lynn; a sister-in-law, Pauline Zeigler; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, William Paxson and Lillian Zeigler; her husband, Tom; and her brothers, James and Bill Zeigler.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10:00 AM, Saturday, September 12, 2020 in Callahan & Hughes Funeral Home, 605 South 25th Street, with Reverend Mike Riggins officiating. Visitation is scheduled prior to services from 8:00-10:00 AM. Private burial will be in Highland Lawn Cemetery. If friends should so desire memorial contributions may be made to Central Presbyterian Church, 125 North 7th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47807 or to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5500 Wabash Avenue, Terre Haute, IN 47803. Funeral information and tributes may be found at www.callahanandhughes.com.

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Visitation

Saturday, September 12, 2020

8:00 - 10:00 am (Eastern time)

Callahan & Hughes Funeral Home

605 South 25th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47803

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