Merrell Lantz

Merrell Dean Lantz was born on October 24th, 1943, unto Harley and Ella (Hudson) Lantz of Dunlap, Iowa. His name Merrell came from his mother's idea by merging merry Ella. Merrell attended county school in Dunlap until the death of his father Harley, when he was just 12 years old. He then lived with his older sister Thelma in Dow City, Iowa. He returned to Dunlap and graduated high school in 1961.

After graduation he moved to Kansas City and went to an electrical trade school before joining the Air Force in 1962 with his good friend Ronald Hartwig. In the Air Force he was an airplane mechanic. After serving the U.S. Air Force in 1966, he lived in Council Bluffs, IA where he worked at Master Craft Furniture. On Saturday, July 13th, 1968, he married Susan Olson of Duluth, MN at the Methodist church in Dunlap and lived in Dow City. He had gotten a job at Farmland Foods in Denison. In 1969 his son Jon was born and in 1972, he moved his Lantz family to the International Trailor Court in Dunlap. His daughter Jessica was born shortly after they moved.They attended the First Baptist church where he was baptized. Merrell was fired from his Farmland job in 1979.

In the spring of 1980, Merrell went looking for work by traveling across country in his Corvette. He came back to Dunlap jobless. He then worked for Joe Sullivan in Dunlap. On July 16th, 1980 while his wife and kids were in eastern Iowa, he had a major tractor accident. Was flown to St. Joseph hospital in Omaha, NE. He was paralyzed from the waist down. He didn't give up, nor did his wife Susan and family. They moved to North Liberty, IA in the summer of 1982 where he attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Majoring in English, he wanted to be a writer. He and his wife seperated in 1984, so he moved into the dorm Daum Hall in Iowa City.

So he dropped out of school as a junior in 1986. That spring he moved to Glendale, AZ with his nephew Keith Samuelson. From Glendale he moved to Tempe, then onto Mesa in 1988, living in apartments and writing his book "Red Wine Creek". Where he also founded "Emerald Friendlies" at the Emerald apartments. In 1990 he moved back to Tempe. In 1992 he moved to Flagstaff, AZ with his son Jon. In the spring of 1993, he took a Greyhound bus ride with Jon from Flagstaff to Omaha. He then stayed in Woodbine with his sister Nettie Marie and Bob Nuzum. That summer he stayed with his brother Warren and Sandy Lantz in Dunlap and then back to Dow City to stay with his sister Thelma and Bob Bonar. Back to Dow City, life runs in cycles.

Merrell was in-and-out of hospitals with illnesses. He even moved to Florida with his daughter Jessica for awhile, but came back to live with Thelma in Dow City. He lived with her until 2006, when he spent much of the year in hospitals and from his birthday in October until his death on January 22nd, 2007 at the Immanuel hospital in Omaha, NE at the age of 63 years, two months, and 29 days.

To know Merrell, he was a likeable guy who made many friends through the years, everywhere he went. He had a good sense of humor and could get anybody to laugh and smile. He was an Iowa Hawkeye and was a major fan. He liked NCAA sports, mainly basketball & football. He liked the Celtics, Indians, and Chiefs, in pro sports. He also liked reading, writing, watching golf and playing card games, poker, chess, shooting 8 & 9-ball pool, fishing, barbeques and camping.

Merrell was preceded in death by his parents and older sister Leona Lantz. He is survived by his wife Susan and Jessica Lantz of Daytona Beach, FL, his son Jon of Kayenta, AZ, his older sisters Nettie Marie and Bob Nuzum of Woodbine, Thelma and Bob Bonar of Dow City, and his younger brother Warren and Sandy Lantz of Dunlap, with all their family members, relatives and friends.