Merle Dean Hargitt was born December 10, 1929. He graduated with the Class of 1947 from Quinter High School. On May 25, 1950, Merle was united in marriage to Dotty Marie Taylor and together they enjoyed more than 71 years of marriage. After 91 years of life, he made his transition to glory the 22nd day of November 2021.
Raised on the family farm, Merle loved the land and got special joy helping his father, brother, sons, and grandsons, especially during harvest. One of the special moments of his life was when the Hargitt farm, purchased in 1898, was recognized by the Kansas Farm Bureau as a Century Farm.
Merle was a life-long learner. There was no mechanical, electrical, heating, or air conditioning problem “Mr. Fix It” could not solve—for his family, friends, acquaintances, and customers. He was known for his gentle heart, his infectious smile, for “giving the best hugs ever”, his willingness to help, his love of people, and an everlasting optimism that made the world a better place.
First and foremost, Merle loved God and out of that flowed his love of family and neighbor. He took great pride in each child, grandchild, and great-grandchild. If asked for his opinion, he would offer it with kindness. Occasionally, when he felt strongly that someone he loved was making a significant error in judgement “Dad/Grandpa Merle” would go directly to that person and communicate his concern in a way that rarely caused offense and often provided a constructive course correction.
Merle was a life-long member of Quinter United Methodist Church. He loved music and singing. He served in every capacity asked of him by the Pastor, the United Methodist Men, and others. With Dotty, Merle was a frequent sponsor for the church youth group mission trips and together they served as custodians of the QUMC for 54 years. In addition, Merle represented his local church at the Kansas West Annual Conference. He had a way of making people feel respected and valued—even if their views might differ from his own—because he listened thoughtfully and cared genuinely.
Service to the Quinter community included Merle’s time as mayor, years of participation in the Kiwanis Club, taking tickets at school sporting events, and treasurer of the Quinter Community Service Club.
Merle is preceded in death by his parents, Mildred and Thomas Hargitt; his brothers, Glenn and George Hargitt; and his son, Roy Dean Hargitt.
Merle is survived by his wife, Dotty Hargitt, his sisters, Marjorie Moos (Charlie) of Grinnell and Joan McCormick (Mike) of Lyons, KS.; sister-in-law Mary Ann McConnell of Omaha; brother-in-law “Tate” Taylor (LeMer) of Littleton, CO; his daughters Maryle Albin (Tom) of Hermitage, TN; Mona Stewart (Tom) of Quinter, Randall Hargitt (Rita) of Quinter, Wendall Hargitt (Gina) of Quinter; Neil Hargitt (JoEva) of Arnold, KS; daughter-in-law Nadine Hargitt (Roy) of Quinter; and 20 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren, 9 step-grand and great-grandchildren plus numerous nieces and nephews.
He will be dearly missed by his family and friends—they will go forward with the loving legacy he left behind and continue to feel his presence in their lives.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Quinter United Methodist Church 218 W. 4th St., Quinter, KS 67752 or to the Quinter High School Scholarship fund. Condolences may be offered in Merle’s online guestbook at www. www.schmittfuneral.com.
The funeral service for Merle will be held Saturday, December 11th, 10:30 AM at the Quinter United Methodist Church, followed by internment in the Baker Township Cemetery, and lunch at the QUMC Fellowship Hall.