Sue Merell Obituary

Sue Merell passed unexpectedly due to health complications Sat Feb 27, 2010. She had just celebrated her 76th birthday on Feb 10. Sue was married to Walker "Red" Merell for 48 years up until his death at the age of 75 in 2006. She is survived by her two sons, Michael and Patrick, and their wives Dunya and Megan. She is also survived by her niece Kim on her deceased brother Patrick's side, and her nephew David on her deceased sister Kit's side. She was fortunate to have seen the early growth of three grandchildren, Vuk, the son of Michael and Dunya's marriage, and 'the twins', Finnegan and Grace, from the union of Pat and Megan.

Born Sue Lourie McCabe, Feb 10 1934, in Berkeley, Ca., she was the youngest of the three children to John and Charlotte McCabe. Sue never got to know her father, however she was very close to her mother and thought the world of her. When her mother fell ill Sue made it a point to be with her and provide for her needs, a character trait that defined her loving and nurturing nature and one she would later repeat in her life.

Sue lived in the San Francisco Bay Area her entire life. She attended UC Berkeley and graduated with a BA in French Language. It is at Berkeley where she met her future husband Red, a disabled Korean War Veteran. Sue and Red were married in 1958 in Carmel, Ca and shortly after moved to Orinda, Ca in 1962. They both loved the Casa Orinda restaurant and were regulars for over 50 years.

Sue and Walker, unable to conceive children, adopted both Mike and Pat, and gave them unconditional love and support their entire life. That love and support was also extended to their family and friends and to the childhood friends of Mike and Pat. Several times their living room became a makeshift safe haven during turbulent times. During their childhood, Mike and Pat’s friends were always ‘at the Merell's’. Their house was always open and people were free to express their opinion, seek advice, get fed, or as it was most of the time, to just have fun. It was because of this that Sue and Red were never short of wedding invitations from Mike and Pat’s friends. Sue cherished these times and in her later years always welcomed everyone back during the holidays or for drop in visits.

Sue enjoyed arts and crafts and spent time with her sons growing up constructing such things as Xmas ornaments. She dabbled with painting and loved going to the museums. Never afraid of hard work she tiled her entire house, reupholstered her chairs, and resurfaced her kitchen cabinets. She was an excellent cook and did everything without a recipe. She loved doing the crosswords and was an avid reader, mostly mysteries. She played the piano and appreciated many different types of music including Big Band and Jazz. New Orleans was one of her favorite destinations, but Paris ranked first for her. She traveled there numerous times. She loved the language, the culture, and the culinary delights, but probably loved the Impressionist paintings the most.

In her last years she helped her husband fight cancer, and even fought off her own bout with the disease. She loved her grandchildren and relished the visits and the phone calls from them. She loved nothing more then holding them in her lap and sharing laughs and smiles with them.

Sue Merell was a smart and beautiful person who was non-judgmental and lived by the mandate to treat others as you would want to be treated. She will be forever missed by those who knew and loved her.

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In lieu of a memorial service Sue and Red's ashes will be spread together at their desired location in the summer. We will send an announcement later.

In the meantime please feel free to share your memories of Sue through the comments section below

Walker Merell Obituary

Walker Ira Merell passed away peacefully in his sleep
on June 12, 2006 at the age of 75. He is survived by
his wife of 48 years, Sue, his two sons, Michael &
Patrick, and their wives, Dunya and Megan. He is also
survived by his younger brother John and his four
nieces and nephews, eight great nieces and nephews and
many cherished cousins. At the time of his passing,
Walker was awaiting the birth of his first grandchild.


Walker, known as “Red” to his family and friends, was
born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 5 1930, and was
raised in Toledo, Ohio. In 1950, while attending the
University of Toledo, Red was called up as a US Marine
reservist and sent to Korea where he was wounded in
the battle of the Chosin Reservoir and awarded the
Purple Heart. Upon his return to the states, Red
relocated his mother and younger brother to Northern
California where he attended the University of
California, Berkeley. Red married Sue McCabe on June
8, 1958 and shortly after settled in Orinda, where
they have resided for the past 45 years. Red spent
most of his career working for the US Govt. as a
Contracts Officer for both the Dept. of Defense and
the General Services Administration.

Red was a longtime member and held leadership
positions in several service-related organizations.
He was a charter member of both the National and local
chapters of the Chosin Few and the local chapter of
the1st Marine Division. He also belonged to the
Marine Corps League, the Marine Combat Correspondence
Corps, the VFW, C-1-7, the Purple Heart Org, and E
Clampus Vitus. Walker was especially proud that he was
able to help others succeed in filing disability
claims for cold weather injuries suffered at the
“frozen Chosin.”

Walker and his wonderful dry wit will be deeply missed
by his family and friends. He loved fishing and
enjoyed camping with his family, and in his later
years, with the men of Bodfish. He loved classical
music, opera and jazz. As an avid reader, his main
intersts were history and biographies. He was a great
sports enthusiast and held Raider season tickets for
many years.

A memorial service will be held on July 29, 2006 at 4
PM at the Lafayette Veterans’ Memorial Building, 3780
Mt. Diablo Blvd. Lafayette. In lieu of flowers, the
family requests donations to the 1st Marine Division
Scholarship Fund and/or the Semper Fi Fund which helps
defray costs for families to visit their wounded
servicemen.