Clifford Leroy Merrell

Born 25 March 1915 to Cora Elizabeth Ward and Fenly Frost Merrell
Married Marie Warnock 17 June 1943 in Manti
Died 3 February 2006
Buried in the Wasatch Lawn Cemetery

1920 Census
1930 Census

Here is Clifford's obituary. The following is his biography from his funeral and was read by his sister.

His father, Fenly F. Merrell, was born in polygamy so his parents were sent to help colonize Mexico. There he met and married Cora Elizabeth Ward on June 10, 1910, and subsequently had two children, Fenly F. Merrell, Jr, called Junior, and Orin Jerome Merrell, called O.J. Then came the Mexican Revolution and the sad exodus in July of 1912.

Dad started work as overseer of a huge ranch in Santo Tomas, New Mexico, where Clifford was born on 25 March 1915. Then came a little sister on 17 March 1917, named Maurine.

The owners of the ranch lived in EI Paso, Texas, so the Merrells were the only Caucasians on the ranch, and also the only Mormons. There was no school for the many children, so Dad contacted the government officials and requested a school. It was built and a teacher sent, but of course, he was Spanish. The two boys attended school and learned Spanish in a hurry, but they didn't know what it meant in English. They recited what they had learned to their mother, and she translated for them.

The situation looked bleak for the future of their children, so Fenly jumped at the news that some of the evacuees had found a valley to buy farther west in New Mexico. He sold his new Model T Ford, bought wagons, horses, and milk cow, and started west in his buggy to Virden, the place where Clifford and the family were raised.

There he found no water, no roads, no school, nothing but a few of the settlers who came ahead, and a place his children could grow with good friends who believed as they did. There Clifford gained another brother, Meriner, and a sister, Verla.

Mother loved to tell the story of Clifford when he was two or three years old. The men had come in with a wagon load of field com. They put him up on the wagon to keep an eye on him and told him to throw the corn down. He kept at the job until he had thrown it all off. That was an indication of things to come. Very often, in summer when farm work is the hardest, or in the fall when there's much plowing to be done, we all sat down to dinner, looked around, and said, "Where's Clifford?" All we had to do was take a few steps out of the house, look westward into the field, and there was Clifford, still at work.

 I have thought about this since. Our father had an accident when a youth in which his hip was broken. They had no advanced methods for healing such a break, and he worked always in pain. I wondered if the reason Clifford worked such long hours was because he knew that the more work he accomplished, the less his Dad would have to do.

He was steady and serious in his work, and ambitious. His efforts showed in his studies at graduation from high school when he was valedictorian of his class. He also worked hard at sports, and won a place on the high school basket ball team. One day he was in the gym and jumped up, catching the bottom of the basketball bank. One of his friends unthinkingly grabbed his feet and pulled him down. He landed on his head and was knocked unconscious. He came around with the help of one of the faculty, but shortly afterward his night vision began dimming. The doctors thought he was fine, and the accident couldn't
possibly have affected his vision, but Mother always thought that was the start of his blindness process.

He wasn't all work, sometimes some mischief crept in. Verlan Anderson was his best friend. Maybe you remember, he was called not too long ago, to be one of the Seventies of the Church. Anyway, O.J., Clifford's brother just older than him, had built a trap for the quails running around our farm. He kept them until he had plenty to put on a dinner for his friends. He invited his guests, cooked the dinner, and they were all meeting in the living room. I was in the kitchen alone, and heard a knock on the window. To my surprise, there stood Clifford and Verlan motioning me to open the window. They were big, low windows. I did so and Clifford slipped in, grabbed the pan of quail, motioned me to silence, and out he went. Needless to say, O.J. was aghast and wordless when he came in with his guests to find none of his hard earned quail. They sat down to eat what was left, and finally Clifford handed the pan back in minus what they had eaten.

When I asked Arwella, O.J.'s wife, what she remembered about Clifford, that incident was the first that came to her mind. She agreed with me, though, that O.J. deserved it because he was always pulling a prank on someone.

After high school, Clifford enrolled at the Gila Junior College in Thatcher, Arizona. When he graduated from there it was in the midst of the depression years. One of the apostles, and I can't remember which one, came to our stake conference in Safford, Arizona. He asked for more missionaries, and made the promise that
anyone who could send one would be blessed with the finances to do so. Mom and Dad talked it over and decided that, if Clifford was willing, they would send him. Of course Clifford was delighted and was called to the Central States Mission. He was sent to Kansas, and there had a very successful two years. Our family was blessed. They bought a lot of little chicks, and those chickens outdid themselves. Eggs were priced high for the times, and the family was blessed with plenty for the missionary and to spare. Most chickens take a holiday in the summer with time out from laying, but those missionary chickens laid the whole year through. Mother told that after he was home, Meriner wanted something they couldn't afford, and he said, "Why don't you send Clifford on another mission?"

Upon his return, he was off to the BYU where he met a pretty young lady by the name of Marie Warnock from Sigurd, Utah. I don't know how long he was there until the nation was shocked to hear President Roosevelt announce somberly over the radio one Sunday morning that Pearl Harbor had been bombed
and that he was declaring war. Clifford rushed to do his duty and joined the Army. He passed his physical and was sent to boot camp. Oh, and I might add a note at this time that this strong, brave, big brother of mine fainted whenever he was forced to receive a shot in the arm-which he did at that time. But he was
accepted.

One day, after he had reported for duty, he want to the PX (Post Exchange, or store). He saw a pretty pearl necklace there, bought it, and sent it to me. I was going to college at that time and wore it to the theater with my boyfriend. He noted the new necklace and asked where I got it. I replied that my brother had given it to me. He said sarcastically, "No boy gives that kind of necklace to his sister!" But my brother did!

All went well with his army life until they held a night patrol of some sort. There it came to light that there was no light at night. He had night blindness. Marie could have told them that, because he fell down an elevator shaft one night when they were out on a campus date. He had been. too proud to tell her. When he faced up to his army superiors, they had to discharge him, and asked why he didn't tell them, he couldn't see at night. He replied, "You didn't ask me."

Clifford went back to his studies at BYU with a will, and also his courting. He graduated from the BYU in Agronomy, or field crop production and soils management. He then married that pretty girl, Marie Warnock, from Sigurd, Utah, on 17 June 1943, and was off to real life and a career with the government. His job was to study the soil where he was assigned and make recommendations for improvement. He was sent from several places having successfully enabled the farmers to obtain better crops. One place they especially liked was St. George, and their next assignment was Delta, Utah. The farmers there were having considerable trouble, and he was greatly improving their soil situation.

His success was recognized and he was awarded a citation from the Secretary of State of the United States, who at that time was Ezra Taft Benson. The Jewish people were resettling Israel at that time, and having a problem with their soil. They contacted Secretary Benson for help. He referred them to Clifford in Delta. Their representative contacted Clifford, and was invited to stay in their home while he learned how he had
achieved such success in Delta. The soil in Delta had been, before improvement, equivalent to the soil in Israel. I remember Clifford telling us about the Kibutzes he had learned about from his visitor. He was impressed by the fact that everyone was allowed to do the thing they were best at and interested in, and
that they shared the profits.

Floyd and I were traveling through Israel several years ago. We had lunch every day in one of those Kibutzes, and it was interesting to see two young boys riding bicycles exactly alike. None had a more expensive brand to hold over the heads of others. When we saw their lush, green crops, I wanted to stand up and shout in their markets, "My brother did this for you!"

The time came when his blindness precluded the work he was doing, and he was relieved of his job. He had raised their production so much, the farmers in Delta went to the government agency and begged them to let him stay. They offered to furnish a car and driver. They didn't know how they could "get along without
him, but the government agent refused. He said the job description called for a sighted person.

He wanted to go back to BYU and get his Doctorate so he could teach. The course required the students to read instruments which he could not do. Discouraged, but not down, he went to Michigan to a graduate school for helping the blind. He came to Salt Lake and we went to see him off the train. He discovered
he would have to spend an hour in the huge Chicago station and then catch another train. It's something that the most hardy of seeing persons dreaded, but he was confident and unworried! He was unstoppable!

He came home with his diploma and went to work for the Utah Blind Center where he had learned Braille. His assignment was to work with, and encourage the newly blind in Utah. He was given a car and chauffeur to take him to outlying places. Much of his work was with the Indians in Southern Utah. They seem to have more than their share of blindness.

These things may not be in exact sequence, but I had only memories to trust. I hope I have been able to let Clifford's grandchildren and great grandchildren know that their Grandpa Merrell was a Grandpa to be very proud of And when you see him again, he will welcome you with a smile and a twinkle in his big, blue
eyes. I am very proud to be called his sister.