Merchant, Viola Mae

Viola Mae Merchant, 72, of Vinton, died Monday, Sept. 17, 2012 at Virginia Gay Hospital in Vinton following an extended illness.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21, 2012 at Prairie Creek Church, rural Vinton, with the Rev. Dennis Sackett and the Rev. David Arnold officiating. Interment will be held at Cox Cemetery near Urbana. Friends may call at Phillips Funeral Home Chapel, 212 East Sixth Street, Vinton from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday. A memorial fund has been established for Hospice Compassus.

Viola was born July 26, 1940 in Vinton to Edward C. and Hazel Marie (Burkhart) Tuttle. On Nov. 24, 1973 she was united in marriage to Don Merchant at United Methodist Church in Vinton.

A busy wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Viola enjoyed crocheting, gardening and baking in her leisure. Her greatest joy in life came from her loving family.

She is survived by her husband, Don of Vinton; her son, Marshall (Thanyatorn) Seltrecht of Albia; her stepson, John (Malea) Merchant of Vinton; her daughters, Sue Ann Hunt of Vinton, Monica (Daniel) Friedman of Belle Plaine, Billie Jo Coady of Vinton, and Christine (Lynn) Lafler of Van Horne; her mother, Hazel Tuttle Snydock of Vinton; her 15 grandchildren; her 15 great-grandchildren; her four brothers, Walter Tuttle of Vinton, Richard (Marlene) Tuttle of Urbana, Aaron (Ramona) Tuttle, and John (Jule) Tuttle, both of Vinton; her three sisters, Leila Williams, JoAnne (Marvin) Roster, and Ellen (Fred) Lerch, all of Vinton; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father; her stepdaughter, Cynthia Merchant; her step-granddaughter, Jacque Merchant; her son-in-law, Linwood Hunt; and her great-grandson, Paul Daniel Smith, Jr.

Condolences may be left at .

Published Sept. 19, 2012 in The Gazette