Sep. 16, 1922 - Nov. 2, 2016
Date of Service: Nov. 5, 2016
Joseph Arthur Merkey was born September 16, 1922 in Cloud Chief, Oklahoma, the third of six children born to Jacob Reno and Blanche (McKinney) Merkey, and departed this life on November 2, 2016, at Willow Park Memory Care in Boise, Idaho.
Joe attended Lake Valley School in Oklahoma thru 11th grade. His father passed away when he was 15 years old and he then lived with his Uncle David Merkey and his family and graduated from Cloud Chief High School. He was baptized in the Washita Church of the Brethren and was raised in a Christian home. He joined the Navy in 1941 and served six years in the Pacific including on the island of Midway as a welder on a sub-tender. After his discharge in 1947, he returned to Oklahoma where he farmed and lived with his Aunt Lydia Merkey in the Cloud Chief area. He also worked as a heavy equipment operator for the County Commissioner of Washita County. On February 17, 1951, he married Melba Jo (Dietrich) Perry. They have two children.
In 1955 he was selected as a heavy equipment operator to work on the Will Rogers Turnpike because of his skill dressing 2:1 grade slopes for the turnpike entranceways. He continued farming and in October 1958, he drew a government homestead under the National Homestead Act and moved his family to Rupert, Idaho in January, 1959. The farm was sagebrush which had to be cleared and developed into an irrigated farm. It was a work of pleasure and the family raised grain, hay, sugar beets, and Famous Idaho Potatoes. They also milked Jersey cows, and later he and Melba raised registered Simental beef cattle.
After the kids were grown and gone from home, Joe and Melba enjoyed many pleasant hours of snowmobiling including a winter trip thru Yellowstone Park. Joe was a 65-year member of the Masonic Lodge and a 65-year member of the Order of Eastern Star. He was a Past Master of the Cordell, Oklahoma Masonic Lodge and served several terms as Worthy Patron in the OES in Rupert and Burley, Idaho. This September he was honored to be selected to go on the Honor Flight for WWII Veterans to Washington, D.C. accompanied by his granddaughter, Tami McCurry.
His favorite pleasure, pastime, joy, and work was farming which he continued to do and enjoy until 2013 when he broke his back in an accidental fall down a flight of stairs. He spent 3 months in the hospital and rehab and returned to the farm to live his remaining years watching the sunrises and sunsets and the crops growing on the farm and occasionally driving a tractor.
He is survived by his wife, Melba, of 65 years, his children: Gary (June) Merkey, Houston, Texas and Judi (Mark) Lehrman, Boise, Idaho. And survived by grandchildren & great-grandchildren: Lori Merkey (Natalie, Katie), Rick Merkey (Kaytlyn, Kevin, Tatiana); Tami & Ace McCurry (Cailee Craft); Ambre & Ryan Zimmerly, (Allie, Nic & Stephen); and Erin & Jake Timmerman. And several great grandchildren. He is survived by two sisters-in-law, Betty (Jesse) Merkey, Cordell, Oklahoma, and Shirley (Edwin) Merkey, Gentry, Arkansas; special nieces and nephews: Diane (Tom)Ledford, Duncan, Oklahoma; Paula (Henry) Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Roxie Schade, Homer, Alaska; Mark (Debi) Merkey, Cordell, Oklahoma; and Bill (Debbie) Merkey, Fletcher, Oklahoma; Randy (Cathy) Merkey, Bentonville, Arkansas; and Sandra Jo Moulton, Savage, Minnesota.
Joe was preceded in death by his parents and all five of his siblings: Marietta, Edna, Marjorie, Jesse, and Edwin, and special nephew, Rick Merkey, Gentry, Arkansas.
Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Monday, November 7, 2016 at the Rupert United Methodist Church 605 H St Rupert, ID. Gathering and viewing for family and friends will be held from 3-5:00 p.m. Sunday, November 6, 2016 at the mortuary. Burial with military rites will be held in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Hansen Mortuary 710 6th St Rupert, ID.
On line condolences may be left at hansen-mortuary.com
Memorials may be made to The Shriners Children's Hospital or the Rupert Methodist Church or a charity of your choice.
Funeral Service
Date of Service: Nov. 5, 2016
