Merlin Anderson was born July 16, 1931, in Rural Decatur County, Kansas, to Herbert G. and Hilda E. (Holmdahl) Anderson. He passed away January
5, 2021, at the Swedish Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, at the age of
89.
Merlin was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Hilda;
sister, Ellnette Rydquist, and son in law, Dennis Anderson. He is
survived by his wife, Bonnie, Oberlin; sister, Marlene Magill, Kansas
City; children, Gayle (Vince) Carlson, Oberlin, Darla (Clark) Stevens,
Wichita, and Brent (Nancy) Anderson, Alpharetta, GA; grandchildren:
Jason, Clay, Kendra, Hannah, Isaac, Isabel, Taryn, Brendan, Sydney, and
Sarah and great grandchildren: Sean, Cowan, Grant, Sadie, Addy, Brody.
Merlin attended Decatur Community High School, graduating in 1949.
He served in the US Army from 1953 to 1955 stationed at the DMZ in South
Korea. Merlin married Bonnie Taylor on August 25, 1956, at the Dresden
United Methodist Church.
Merlin was a member of and has been attending Christ Community
Church in Hoxie for over ten years. He also attended and was a member
of Oberlin Covenant Church and Lund Covenant Church for many years.
Raising cattle was Merlin’s passion in their farming and ranching
operation. He was an early adopter and leader in performance testing,
herd improvement and genetic tracing. Improving their cattle operation
was a constant focus for Merlin, always striving to increase
performance, productivity, and profits. Bonnie made sure they looked
good. Merlin and Bonnie earned several distinctions in the cattle
industry with probably the top award being the National Beef Improvement
Federation’s Commercial Producer of the year.
Merlin was active in the community and served on numerous boards in
the area including Decatur Coop, Soil Conservation Service, FHA Office
in Norton, The Bank of Oberlin and Custer Township.
Sports was Merlin’s biggest hobby, especially baseball. He followed
in his dad’s footsteps as a loyal St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan.
Listening to Cardinals baseball over KMOX radio after a long day was a
treat. Merlin wrestled in high school and later became a fan of any
young man he knew that wrestled and pulled for all of them. He watched
through the high school season and developed a practice of writing
congratulatory and encouraging letters to Oberlin wrestlers each year
after the season was completed.
Merlin was a loving husband and father. He loved his wife and put
his heart into raising their children to love God, to treat people well,
live with integrity, and work hard at what you do. Above all, Merlin’s
highest wish was for every person’s salvation so they could spend
eternity with Jesus in Heaven.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Ephesians 4:26
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