[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12616]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING HORACE MERRILL

 Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the life of 
Horace Sellers Merrill of Micaville, AL, who passed away on February 
17, 2017. He will be remembered as a dedicated public servant who 
worked faithfully for the citizens of Alabama. He was committed to 
bettering his community and State through his public service and 
involvement in the community.
  Mr. Merrill began a career with the Dixie Mines Mica Mining Company 
in the late 1950s before entering Alabama politics. In 1964, he was 
elected circuit clerk of Cleburne County, a position he held for 12 
years. Following his term as circuit clerk, Mr. Merrill was elected 
probate judge and chairman of the Cleburne County Commission, where he 
served for 6 years.
  Mr. Merrill will be remembered for his leadership in completing the 
Alabama welcome center and rest area on Interstate 20, as well as his 
efforts to utilize the Dyne Creek watershed to service the citizens of 
Cleburne County with a countywide water system.
  Outside of his professional career, Mr. Merrill was a very active 
member of his community. He served as president of the Lions Club, the 
Jaycees, and the local Athletics Boosters Club. In his earlier years, 
Mr. Merrill was an accomplished athlete. He lettered in both baseball 
and football and then attended Southern Union Junior College on an 
athletic scholarship. He later served as the announcer for Little 
League and junior high football games in Cleburne County and helped 
organize the first youth baseball program in Heflin.
  Additionally, Mr. Merrill was a longtime member in the Cleburne 
Baptist Association, serving as an officer and pastor of several 
churches. A member of Heflin Baptist Church for more than 50 years, Mr. 
Merrill served as a deacon, a Sunday school teacher, Sunday school 
superintendent, church training director, and sanctuary choir member.
  Horace's many accomplishments and contributions to the State of 
Alabama will long be remembered. He touched the lives of many over the 
years, and he will be greatly missed.
  I offer my deepest condolences to Horace's wife, Mary, and to all of 
their loved ones as they celebrate his life and mourn this great 
loss.

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