Donald Merwin

Donald P. Merwin, 85, of Manteno, passed away at 12:03 a.m. Saturday (Nov. 10, 2012) at his home. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. Wednesday until the noon funeral service at the Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home, Manteno. Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley. Mr. Merwin was born Sept. 5, 1927, in Kankakee, the son of Robert and Mae Delavergne Merwin. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1946 to 1948, returning to Kankakee to work as a reporter for The Daily Journal. He continued his journalistic career with stints at the Joliet Herald-News from 1950 to 1961 and the Louisville Times from 1961 to 1968. Then upon moving to Manteno, he worked in public relations for 16 years with Carl Byoir & Associates in downtown Chicago before moving back to the other side of the news desk with a major trade magazine, Highway & Heavy Construction. There he spent one week of every month in Washington D.C. reporting on the economics and politics involved in heavy construction. Following his retirement, Mr. Merwin and his wife, the former Madelyn Bourell, whom he married June 10, 1951, in Kankakee, made dozens of trips abroad, covering six of the seven continents — all but Antarctica. His wife preceded him in death Sept. 26, 2011. Surviving are two daughters and one son-in-law, Donna and Patrick Hayes, of Virginia Beach, Va., and Paula Jett, of Manteno; one daughter-in-law, Linda Johnson, of Oconomowoc, Wis.; 11 grandchildren, Carolyn (Kevin) Mohr, of Midlothian, Va., Buzz (Christine) Hayes, Nicholas DeBouck, Cheryl (Shawn) Mohr, and Jason (Adrian) Hayes, all of Virginia Beach, Gregory (Pamela) Hayes, of Fayetteville, N.C., Shane Clark, of New York, Jennifer (Todd) Yarno, of Manteno, Melissa Jett, of Chicago, and Heather and Melanie DeBouck, of Tustin, Calif.; 21 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Patricia and Norman "Bud" Hartman, of Manteno; two nieces, Linda Hartman, of Newport Beach, Calif., and Diana Bloxam, of Bloomington; and great-nieces, Lucy and Cally Bloxam, of Bloomington. In addition to his wife, Mr. Merwin was preceded in death by his parents; one son, William DeBouck; one son-in-law, Donald Jett; one daughter-in-law, Linda DeBouck; his brother, Richard; and one niece, Sandra Hartman. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley - hkvcares.com/

Donald Merwin

September 5, 1927 - November 10, 2012