[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 102 (Thursday, July 11, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S7785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MERLE E. WOOD

 Mrs. FRAHM. Mr. President, I rise today to honor an 
outstanding Kansan, Merle Wood, who passed away earlier this week. 
Merle was a resident of Olathe, KS.
  Merle spent the first 24 years of his career as a petty officer in 
the U.S. Navy, serving in both World War II and the Korean Conflict. He 
retired as the Navy's chief hospital corpsman.
  After his first retirement, Merle served as a government relations 
representative for American Home Products. In 1972 he went to work for 
Marion Laboratories as director and then vice president of government 
affairs. In 1985 he was elected to Marion's board of directors. He 
retired from his second career in 1989 and embarked on his third career 
as vice president of government and consumer affairs for the Kansas 
City Royals.
  Merle held leadership positions in many national organizations, 
including the American Quarter Horse Foundation, the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference, and the League of the United Latin American 
Citizens. He received the Legion of Merit and Lifetime Membership Award 
from the Military Society of Anesthesiology and was a member of the 
Association of Military Surgeons. He also belonged to the Andrew G. 
Morrow Society of Cardiovascular Surgeons, which created the Merle E. 
Wood Scholar Fellowship in his honor.
  Mr. President, no one could meet Merle Wood without being charmed by 
his open personality and impressed by his wide-ranging knowledge. I 
extend my condolences to his wife, Ellen, and their children. Merle 
will be greatly missed by the Greater Kansas City community and all who 
knew him.

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