Merrill Keith Hurlbert

Merrill K. Hurlbert, age 86, a longtime resident of the Raymond, SD community died on Friday, July 8, 2011 following a short illness and a brief stay in the Jenkins Living Center at Watertown. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 2PM in the First Presbyterian Church at Raymond with Pastor Donna Nickels officiating. Music will be provided by Deb Waldner as pianist. The vocalist will be The Reverend Dick Poppen, singing "Borning Cry" and "Be Thou My Vision", accompanied by Marsha Bullis. The congregation will sing "Amazing Grace" and "Great is Thy Faithfulness". The casketbearers will be Ralph and Harold Hurlbert, Bob Murphy, David Putman, Glenn Handke, Keith Erickson, Herb and Robert Wegman, Bruce Hestad, and Gerald Mehlberg. Burial, with full military honors provided by the American Legion Baker Post #209, Raymond, SD and the South Dakota Air National Honor Guard, will follow in the Prairie Valley Cemetery at Raymond. Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 5-7PM at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark and after noon at the Church in Raymond. Merrill Keith Hurlbert was born on November 7, 1924, on a farm near Raymond, SD in Raymond Township, Clark County, the son of Archie Lee and Alberta Jane (Beach) Hurlbert. He graduated from Raymond High School in 1942 and then worked a few months in a Portland, OR shipyard before joining the United States Marine Corps in 1943. He served in the Philippines and then in China. He received training to be a crewmember for a B-25 bomber and became the First Sergeant of the squadron before being discharged on July 1, 1946. Following his military service, he worked for a short time at the Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, SD. Merrill became a rural mail carrier out of Raymond in February of 1948. Later, after some route consolidation, he delivered mail out of Lake Preston, Arlington and then Watertown. He received a Service Award for 35 years as a mail carrier. In addition to working for the Postal Service, he did carpentry work throughout the area. On February 4, 1951 he was united in marriage to Peggy Kyle of Clark, SD. They both were very active members of the Presbyterian Church at Raymond and had served the Church in many areas. He served as a trustee, handyman, treasurer, Sunday school teacher and elder for many years. In 1996 he was honored by the State Organization and was recognized as an "Outstanding Presbyterian Senior". He was a life member of the American Legion Baker Post 209 at Raymond where he served as commander, adjutant, treasurer and Chaplain. In 1990 he received the "District Legionnaire of the Year" award. Merrill had great satisfaction in joining with others or working alone on many projects in the Church and community. He will long be remembered for his willingness to help others. Throughout the years he enjoyed spending time with family, friends, boating, bowling, dancing, playing cards, hunting and genealogy. He also served for many years as a volunteer fireman at Raymond and had served as Fire Chief and Town Clerk, as well as working with the Raymond Cemetery Association. He enjoyed trips to Scotland, England, and Canada and thoroughly enjoyed traveling to Washington, DC with his son, Lee, where they visited several of the monuments and memorials, including the Marine Corps Heritage Museum. He was also very grateful for the privilege of visiting Washington, DC with the South Dakota Honor Flight in October of 2009. Grateful for having shared his life are his children, Marsha (Greg) Bullis and Lee (Jane) Hurlbert, all of Watertown; two grandchildren, Ross and Megan Hurlbert; and a sister, Janice Givan, of Aberdeen. Preceding him in death were his wife Peggy, and his parents. Arrangements are with the Furness Funeral Home at Clark where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com