Gregory Parker Merrill Sr. died on April 7, 2021, in Vero Beach, Florida.

He was born in White Plains, New York on Oct. 6, 1925. He grew up in Scarsdale, New York and graduated from high school at Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut. He attended Drexel University and enlisted in the United States Army Air Force during World War II.

He spent summer days in his youth in Bayville, Maine at Lawn Cottage, with his parents George Parker Merrill and Elaine Farnell Merrill and his grandparents George and Mary Alice Jones Merrill, who were some of the original Bayvillians who came to Maine as rusticators in the 1890s. He continued to come to Bayville nearly each of his 95 summers, sharing the multi-generational family cottage and enjoying boating, swimming, and summer fun. During his last visit in 2019 he enjoyed participating in the busy activities of the cottage and the Bayville Community and several of his great grandchildren, even playing a bit of pickleball. Most of all on that visit, he enjoyed looking out on the ever-changing Linekin Bay from the porch and sharing in the family traditions with his three sons and their families.

Greg had a long career with JC Penney as a retail manager and retired from the New York City headquarters. He helped care for his first wife, Mary Brownell Merrill, when she became ill and died of cancer in 1985. He then moved to Little Compton, Rhode Island where he met his second wife, Jean Stuart Rogers playing bridge. They traveled far and wide to play bridge and both went on to become Life Masters. He and Jeannie moved from Rhode Island to Vero Beach, Florida for warmer weather and more chances to play golf, a game he truly loved. He was an active member of the Moorings Golf & Country Club. He kept up beautiful gardens at their house in The Moorings before moving to Indian River Estates. He was a member of the Vero Beach Bridge Club and of Christ Church in Vero Beach. A skilled and clever woodworker who made beautiful pieces of furniture that he gifted to family members; Greg also found time to devote many years volunteering as a carpenter for the Indian River Habitat for Humanity.

He was preceded in death by his first wife Mary Brownell Merrill and his second wife Jean Stuart Merrill. He is survived by his sons Gregory Jr. and wife Annette of Reisterstown, Maryland; David and wife Julia of Newcastle, Maine; John and wife Heather of Danbury, Connecticut; stepchildren Susan Bailey of Bow, New Hampshire; Steven Rogers of Rochester, Massachusetts; Stuart Rogers of New York City, New York; 13 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made in his name to The Boothbay Region Land Trust at 60 Samoset Road, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.

The family will gather privately in July to celebrate his life.