Robert Merchant

Robert Merchant passed away recently at the age of 97. He was born and raised on a family farm in the upper midwest that had been homesteaded in the 1850s, and was a devout, life-long Seventh-day Adventist Christian. He and his wife of almost 73 years, Agnes, worked for Adventist schools in Michigan, Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee. He was a CPA with an MBA degree and served as Accountant and Treasurer of Southern Adventist University (Southern Missionary College in those days) in Collegedale for 25 years. He and Agnes were active in the Collegedale church, school, and community for 55 years. He was the first person to vote in Collegedale, after the town became incorporated, and did volunteer work for the church and credit union. He had many good character qualities, including generosity (to a fault, he almost never turned down a request for money from any worthy source), humility, an almost unheard of level of honesty, kindness, and respect for everyone, including the less fortunate. He was a life-long Democrat and always admired and talked about FDR, since he grew up during the Great Depression and WWII, and he liked to brag that he was born during the Woodrow Wilson administration. He followed the news and current events, and always asked if we had heard any news that day, and he loved to watch the political conventions. He even rented a TV for a week to watch the 1960 convention, before owning a TV. He is survived by Agnes, daughters, Judy (Kris) and Rita (Gordon); sons, Jerry and Dan (Amy); a grandson, Michael (Christina); two granddaughters, (Emily, and Abby); and two great-grandchildren (Meraiah and Canaan). He was preceded in death by his brother, Clifford; sister, Marion; and granddaughter, Valerie. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, at the Collegedale SDA church. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to any organization that helps people in need or the worthy student fund at Southern Adventist University. Arrangements are by the Valley View Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 7414 Old Lee Highway, Chattanooga, TN 37421. Memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.chattanoogavalleyviewchapel.com.