Danny "Ozzie" Merkel

Danny "Ozzie" Merkel, age 69, of Bradley, died in his home early Thursday morning, October 16, 2014 after a lengthy illness. Visitation will be held on Sunday from 5-7PM with a prayer service at 7PM at the Furness Funeral Home in Clark and will resume again Monday after noon in the funeral chapel. Funeral services will be held on Monday, October 20, 2014 at 1:30PM in the Furness Funeral Home Chapel at Clark with The Reverend John Short officiating. Burial will follow in the Prairie Hill Cemetery at Bradley. Casketbearers will be his four children, Paul Merkel, Angela Graves and Nathan and Nickolas Merkel. The honorary casketbearers will be the members of the Clark County Riders (CCR). Albert Daniel Merkel, Jr. was born August 30, 1945 to Albert Daniel Merkel, Sr. and Darlene Scott. He was nicknamed "Ozzie" at an early age which stayed with him the remainder of his life. He attended school at Bradley, graduating in the Class of 1963. Soon after high school he entered the United States Navy and served his country honorably for two years. Following his discharge he returned to Bradley and worked alongside his dad for several years. On February 8, 1969 he was united in marriage to Constance "Connie" Geffre at Leola, SD. Ozzie went to work for International Harvester, which is now Titan. In 1989, he opened a repair shop, OJ's Service and Repair, in Clark and it operated for many years. Then, Ozzie went onto work at Olson Motors as a mechanic until retirement a couple years later. Some of his favorite moments were spent camping with his family, reading, hunting in his younger years, and indulging in TV programs - with the volume up of course. Second to none though was his love of riding motorcycle at any opportunity and spending time with the crew of the CCR, a group that he was a charter member. Ozzie also served as President of the CCR for numerous years. Preceding him in death were his parents, and four children, Sandra, Jacob, Mya and Joshua. Grateful for having shared in his life is his wife Connie of Bradley, children, Paul Merkel of Las Vegas, NV, Angela (Josh) Graves of Des Moines, IA, Nathan (Megan) Merkel of Clark and Nicholas Merkel of Watertown. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Logan, Myrissa, Broderick, Kolby, Taylor, Katelynn and Alayna and his brother, Donald Merkel of Bradley. Furness Funeral Home of Clark is serving the family where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com