Timothy Frederick Merker

Timothy Frederick Merker, currently of Marion, Iowa, was born on January 9, 1940 in Milwaukee, to the late Herman ‘Lonnie’ Merker and late Helen (nee Fehr) Merker and passed away at the age of 84 on June 28, 2024, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Tim graduated from the Milwaukee Country Day School (now University School) in 1958. He attended Stanford University and graduated from Ripon College with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a minor in chemistry. He also served in the infantry and as a mechanic in the U.S. Army Reserves.

He married Margaret (Marny) Jane Kinne on August 9, 1969 in Milwaukee. Marny died on March 28, 1996. On August 25, 2001, he married Donna Doughty Ferguson in Presque Isle. Donna died on April 14, 2013. He married Annette Noble on July 3, 2015 in Presque Isle. He is survived by his wife, Annette, his son, Christopher Kinne Merker and his wife, Kayla and his daughter, Margaret (Mollie) Helen Merker and her husband, Troy Feller, and his grandchildren, Sgt. John Timothy Dwyer, Sophia Kinne Merker and Grace Kathleen Merker.

At the time of his death Tim was one of the very last surviving great-grandsons of George and Henrietta (Brandhorst) Brumder. George was a prominent Milwaukee publisher of German language newspapers and books.

During his life, Tim was a passionate volunteer in the community, freely giving of himself as a skilled carpenter, electrician and mechanic. For several years he ran the Cedar Rapids’ chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and every completed house — and the people who were lifted up by it — was a source of great pride for him. He was also active at different points in time in the Episcopal and Methodist churches and the Lion’s Club. Tim was at heart a humanitarian, always taking an interest in the welfare of his fellow person. He would help people whenever he could, often with advice, and at other times with money or gifts (used vehicles were not out of the norm). Tim was an enthusiast of four-wheel drive vehicles throughout his life, especially his 1952 Dodge Power Wagon, which he acquired at the age of 21 and — with two engine replacements he performed himself — owned until the end of his days.

Tim’s greatest joy, however, was spending time with his family on Crab Lake in Presque Isle, where he was always busy working with his hands. A grandson of Crab Lake pioneers, Fred and Maude Fehr, in 1974 he took on construction of his own cabin on the lake. Much to his first wife Marny’s chagrin, it was a project that was never-ending.

Tim was preceded in death by one brother, Herman Fehr Merker, one sister, Helen Merker Williams, and his stepfather, George Sprackling.

A celebration of life will be held on July 12 in Milwaukee, at Forest Home Cemetery, where he will be interred, with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Tim’s name can be made to the Crab Lake Conservation Foundation (CLCF) P.O. Box 256, Presque Isle, Wisconsin 54557 or Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity, 350 6th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401.