Charlie Merritt played and lettered as an Offensive Tackle for the PHS Tigers in 1967 and 1968. Many knew him as the owner of Merritt Paint Company, others knew him as one of the most generous men in Pensacola. The comments attached to his obituary in the Pensacola News-Journal are a testament to how many people and organizations he helped. From a personal stand point, this is a sad loss and cuts deep for many of us. In 2009 when the new field house was to be dedicated to Coach Haynes, a few of us decided to spruce up Tiger Stadium. We had good intentions and a couple had strong backs. What we did not have was a lot of financial resources. To clean up the grand stands and to repaint several areas, about $6,000 worth of concrete paint was required. Charlie donated all the paint and turned over a commercial grade pressure washer. He refused payment. When he was offered a thank you ad in the program, he accepted as long as it was a tribute to his old teammates and not to him. We never knew that at the time Charlie was facing the need or at least the desire to close his business. Charlie passed away on December 26, his funeral will be held at Cokesbury Methodist Church 2 at 11:00 a.m. 2014 was a year when many former Tiger greats departed this life and Charlie has joined this All Star group. Rest in peace Charlie.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 01:19:21 +0000
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