Laura Deborah Merrill

Dr. Laura D. Merrill, PhD: a few life stories from a remarkable life

Laura Deborah Merrill – born February 21st, 1950, in Frankfurt, Germany; died June 20, 2025 in Roy, Utah.

Parents, Eugene Hyde Merrill and Barbara McCune Musser

From her older brother Dr. Roger Merrill, MD, comes the following professional and personal summary:

Dr. Laura Merrill attended undergraduate school at the University of Utah and completed her undergraduate work with a B.S. at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. She then went to the University of California at Berkeley where she studied extensively, ultimately earning a PhD in entomology (the study of insects). She then went to work for the U.S. Forest Service helping to manage the health of the great expanses of national forest in California. She later went to work for the Department of the Army in Yuma, Arizona, where she helped preserve wildlife areas from the bomb testing that the U.S. Army does in Yuma. She retired from the Department of the Army and moved up to Spring City, Utah, with her many beloved animals, where she built a beautiful little ranch with barns, sheds, and a lovely home. She only recently moved up to the Resort (Sunridge!) at Roy.

I doubt if you remember (it has been so long), but Laura is an achieved scientist, earth warrior, lover of all non-humanoids living, and one with encyclopedic knowledge of, and interest in natural phenomena. She was abused by the Federal Government in the form of the US Forest service; she strapped on her big boy pants, took her lance, and went into battle. The battle lasted 3 or 4 years, but at the conclusion she emerged victorious. The attitude you see in her of uncompromising intent, such a nuisance now, was a trait that she used to good advantage in all her crusades, usually for someone/ something outside of herself. She was my first roommate: our bedroom looked out over the Sacré Coeur on Montmartre in Paris, 10 miles from our home, and we often looked out at its floodlit form and marveled.

[Now, from far-away North Carolina, with our dear sister mentally and physically distanced from us, her siblings, Roger wrote this tender piece:] A few weeks ago I was praying for an elderly neighbor. I asked, "Heavenly Father, could you please send an angel to Annette to bring her peace and to watch over her?" The Voice spoke: "I have… it's you!" Similarly we have petitioned the Master to bring comfort and assistance to our dear sister. He has… it is you precious, kind, loving, devoted nieces [Mary Lou, Katie Ann, Charity]. You can never be sufficiently thanked.

In other news, as I prayed a couple of weeks ago, I begged Him that He would keep her out of pain - physical, emotional, social. The Response: "My precious daughter is not in pain; her spirit does not suffer any of the horrors that appear to beset her. She feels the love of those who minister to her." Again, thank you dear ones. And thank you, kind Father.

I love her; I await the time we will again enjoy the sociality we have previously had.

Her younger brother John Merrill writes:

My memories are all around animals and horses.

Laura loved horses in a way I don’t understand, but I’ve seen it in three of my kids. “When they first fall in love let it be with a horse!” Laura would include me in her play with plastic horses, tack them up, and direct them around little courses she created out in the yard. She went to horse camp and later worked at the stables of the private school (Congressional) near our home in Virginia.

I very well remember coming in to Laura’s room one early Saturday morning when I was 9 or 10 and she was maybe 14. She was bleary-eyed from me waking her up after some late night. My friend and I had a bird that had fallen from a nest onto the concrete walkway. I knew Laura would know what to do to help it. Another time we had caught some tadpoles in a jar and wanted to see them turn into frogs. She insisted that we provide a decent habitat for them. I don’t remember if we got frogs, but the tadpoles had a good life.

Laura’s older sister Barbara Jean writes:

Laura was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1950 and shortly after that our family returned to the Washington, D.C. area. In 1953 we moved to Paris, France, to a beautiful suburb called Garches. There we lived for 8 years, so Laura basically lived her childhood there. She speaks French with a beautiful accent.

I remember one Family Night when our parents asked us what we thought about a particular subject, what we could say about it. Laura’s response was, “The wisest of all creatures is the ant, for she says nothing.”

Our dad told us after-dinner stories from his imagination, the most famous series being “Robert and Susie Q stories.” Each evening he would end on a cliff-hanger and we could hardly wait for the next installment. Mom was away one summer having surgery in the United States, and Dad reported to her, “Laura said she doesn’t want any more silly stories; she wants REAL stories, from the Bible!”

Laura went to a French school with me, which was very difficult as she did not understand the language and the strict teaching approach did not have room for someone as creative and delightful as my sister. She was a beautiful little girl with strawberry blond hair, named after our dad’s younger sister and also his mother. As an adult, she forged a path where she could be close to nature and God’s creatures. We all love our sister very much. Her curiosity, creativity, and powers of observation have been great talents all her life. She and I went back to France together a few times as adults and I marveled at what she saw and learned and taught me. She has a lovely voice and as a teenager taught herself to play the guitar.

Laura had beautiful hair was always shining. Her laughter was like our dad’s, completely infectious! She was always gentle with Heavenly Father’s living creatures, and worried about neglected pets. Her animals came before people in importance, and I remember her explaining why that was so, “because they DEPEND on me… people can take care of themselves!” In our days together at the French school, she discovered and was chagrined to see “une petite fille sans culottes” (a little girl with no underwear) at school. She worried about that little girl.

Our older brother Hyde (who passed away in December 2022) said of Laura, “She was just always so FUN! She sparkled with creativity and humor!” When Laura was born, Hyde happily said, “Oh good! Now Barbara Jean will have a sister, too!”

Laura’s loyal friend and colleague from Forest Service days, Melinda Benton, wrote (March 3, 2025):

The 3-day backpacking trip to Agua Alta Spring with Laura, Daniel, and Gary – all co-workers on the San Bernardino National Forest – resulted in several remembrances:

• The night before the trip we all met at Ribbonwood Campground to have dinner together and get an early start the next morning since it’s a 10-mile hike to the spring through pinyon-juniper high desert terrain. Daniel provided dinner and to supplement it Laura collected a gallon-size baggie full of yucca flower petals from the blooming plants which were then parboiled by Daniel and served with a spaghetti dinner. The petals were delicious! Laura had collected the most young and tender petals she could find which had a lot of flavor and were an excellent addition to the meal.
• As we headed out the next morning, we all quickly realized that while Daniel had billed this hike as a contour hike, climbing into and out of at least two large drainages did not seem to agree with the definition of “contour,” at least in our experiences. Only the last couple of miles were actually side-sloping the hills (contouring) and traversing relatively level ground in the mountains above Palm Springs. Since I have long legs and a long stride, I had a tendency to walk a bit faster than Laura and she came up with the nickname “gazelle-legs.” I liked it so much that when I was setting up my personal email account, I used her nickname as a thank you to her.
• After we arrived at Agua Alta, we found the spring in good condition and we each chose the most level spots we could find on a wide, relatively flat ridge nearby. The two men were highest up the slope, I was about 25 feet down from them, and Laura was about 25 down from me. Near the campfire the next morning Daniel and Gary were just boiling water for their instant coffee, and not looking forward to it, when we all heard a whirring sound that was not part of the soft wilderness background noises around us. We finally realized that we were hearing a coffee grinder coming from Laura’s campsite. She had brought coffee beans and a small portable machine and was grinding up coffee beans for fresh coffee! She was the envy of the two guys, I can tell you that. They were very grateful for a cup of freshly ground coffee because she had brought enough for all of them.
• After we spent the day checking the condition of the spring and the surrounding area, and another night on the ridge, we headed back to the vehicles the next morning. We hiked a total of 25 miles during 3 days and we were all quite ready to adjourn to a small local pizza restaurant for some fresh food. The guys ordered a pitcher of beer to go along with their meal, while Laura and I happily stuck with lemonade. So that meant Laura and I were the designated drivers. I drove Gary home and returned him safely to his wife while Laura drove Daniel (in Daniel’s SUV) to her house. Laura has always been a cautious driver on mountain roads, and it was quite dark when we left the pizza place, so her drive home was conservative. Once she was at her house and parked in the driveway, she hopped out and informed Daniel that he was on his own. It was her way of telling him she knew he’d had plenty of time to sober up on the 2.5-hour drive to her house, so she was confident that he could travel to his own house safely, and he did.

I met Laura a few times at her house in Riverside for dinner and on one occasion there was a new table saw set up on the back patio area. She was tackling some home improvement projects, teaching herself how to use the table saw while installing shelving in the house and replacing siding on the garage. I think she was replacing some board in the fence too. She could tackle anything she set her mind to, an amazing gal.

On another occasion we met on a Saturday, headed over to the Farmer’s Market for fresh veggies, and returned to her house in Riverside to prepare and bake a pizza in her oven. Only her oven wasn’t cooperating. She had issues with it while she lived there, and although she had recently had it fixed, the oven refused to work for us. So we were left with a large pizza that needed to be baked, and the usual method wasn’t going to work. Getting creative, Laura cut the pizza into small enough squares to be baked in the toaster oven, and while it took a bit longer, we had our pizza dinner that night!

I have always been grateful that Laura was one of the last individuals to talk to Daniel before he got too weak from his own health issues. She has a huge heart and is a gentle soul, and she was able to bring a lot of joy and happiness to him with her dry sense of humor, regaling him with stories of the adventures they shared, including Agua Alta.

Cats – I too have adopted a few cats from Laura. Shiloh was a snow-shoe lynx-point Siamese that was just a 12-week-old kitten when she came into my life. Laura had rescued this litter of 7 Siamese kittens of which all but Shiloh were spoken for. I happened to be over at Laura’s for dinner and had just moved into my own home and needed another cat to be a companion to Mischief, my young, long-haired black cat. Besides dinner, I came home with a kitten and both Mischief and Shiloh hit it off, keeping each other company while I worked. When she was older, Shiloh became my alarm clock, vaulting onto the bed in the morning, using my abdomen for a springboard, while less than subtly reminding me that breakfast was overdue.

A year or so later, Marmalade, an orange tabby, joined the household. Although she had been feral only up until about 6 weeks old, she was MUCH wilder than Shiloh who had been feral until about 10 weeks old. Laura had been given a litter of orange tabbies, and since they all had the distinctive M on their forehead, she decided names starting with M would be appropriate. I ended up with Marmalade, but there was Mariposa which means butterfly in Spanish too, and Mike, and I forget the other two. If you can believe it, Marmalade was the tamest of the lot and even then, was terrified of being handled. Laura taught me how to hand feed (literally on my finger) baby food to Marmalade and within a few days she was tamer. This cat eventually chose to sleep on the bed with me at night, and figured out which corner was hers and became a loving lap cat. Laura has a soft heart for any creature, large or small, that needs her care.

Laura had moved out of her Riverside home and into one she purchased in Moreno Valley that had enough acreage for a couple of horses named Jake and Merlin that she adopted from a rescue group. I heard from her about the adoption and asked her to send a photo of the two horses, and she did so. Only to my surprise when I opened up the image expecting to see two horses happily munching on hay, instead it was a photo of George Clooney and Brad Pitt on the movie set of Ocean’s Eleven. We both got a good laugh out of it! She could make a day much brighter with her presence or thoughtful messages. A few days later she did send a photo of the two horses but whenever I see two horses or think of Laura, I think of this and smile. That’s my best memory of her.

Candace Schmidle is another dear friend from Laura’s professional life. She writes, “Melinda, Laura, Meg McDonald, and I spent time together while stationed with the Forest Service on the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California in the 1990s. I have many special memories of those years. I consider it an honor to write something for Laura, as she holds a special place in my heart.

My Dear Friend Laura D. Merrill

In 1996 I was temporarily assigned to the San Bernardino National Forest. Laura had a desk in the same office. I remember how welcoming she was to me, a newcomer and not even part of her staff. I was part of the Southern California Lands staff. While there were Forest Service cultural norms that brought us together, it was our love of cats that cemented our friendship. Laura had several rescue cats, while I belonged to one Siamese cat, Sir Gareth of Waterford.

By 1998, when I accepted a permanent assignment to the Forest, Laura and I were fast friends, along with Melinda Benton and Meg MacDonald, both Forest Archeologists. Should I mention that we are all cat people? Meg did not start that way, but it did not take us long to convert her…at least for a short period before she went back to Airedale Terriers. My significant other Chris (later my husband) was in Sacramento and Meg’s husband Bill was in San Diego. Laura, Meg, Melinda, and I spent time at outdoor symphonies eating pizza from our favorite takeaway, and visiting each other’s homes to discuss various topics over cups of tea. On days off we might visit museums, find new tea rooms, or try Thai or Indian restaurants. When the weather was nice (under 100 degrees and no Santa Anas) we would go on walks or hikes in the local mountains. Other times we might be at Laura’s house, helping with rescue kitty chores.

Occasionally Laura would talk about her childhood in France, how difficult it had been to be in elementary school and unable to speak French when she was first enrolled. She would share happier memories of return visits to France with her sister. Laura could often be found helping a friend, or up to her elbows in feline rescue.

Laura rescued abandoned, injured, neglected, and unloved animals, starting with cats and later adding other animals of much larger size. I have met many kitty rescuers over the years, but never anyone as dedicated as Laura. She gave her heart, soul, and massive amounts of money to care for many felines who would have died without her. Laura rehomed many kitties to grateful adopters. I am sure she kept a mental list of all the kitties and who adopted everyone. I found homes for three of her Siamese rescues, including one of my own, but more on that part of the story later.

Laura loved horses too, and scheduled riding lessons. During one lesson she and the horse had an unfortunate incident which put Laura in the hospital with a concussion for a few days. I think the accident just increased her determination to be a better rider. Laura purchased a ranchette in Moreno Valley and finally had a place to stable a horse.

Melinda, Meg, and I transferred to other assignments outside Southern California. I do not think the four of us realized how much support we had provided for each other. For Laura, this knowledge would become apparent.

Laura and her colleague James, were confronted by a new supervisor. The woman set about reducing the entomology budget, and the easiest way to accomplish that goal was to remove higher-graded employees. Laura and James were poorly treated. James retired. Laura went through hell fighting for her principles and was fired but later reinstated. Meg, Melinda, and I could only support Laura via phone and email. I am not sure Laura’s spirit recovered from the Forest Service betrayal.

Once Laura was reinstated, she transferred to the Department of National Defense in Yuma, AZ. Meg was on assignment there as one of the base archaeologists. Switching between agencies was not easy, but Laura did it with Meg’s help. Laura bought a doublewide mobile home with enough property for a horse or two, cats, and a couple of dogs.

Laura was excited when she announced it was time to retire, and even more excited when she found a house with a barn and some land. When I asked how many cats accompanied her on the move, she told me all black cats count as one. That is as much of an answer as I ever received. She may have had two or three horses and one or two dogs by then. There may have been a chicken or two or three as well. Somewhere along the way, I believe a mule and/or miniature donkey also showed up. Laura loved her fur babies and they loved her!

My most recent memory of Laura’s kindness starts early March 2020, just before the Covid-19 lockdown. I called Laura when my beloved Tori-Siamese Branwen Lady Miravale died after a long battle with a liver tumor. I was heartbroken and cried on her shoulder over the phone. A few weeks later Laura texted me a photo of a little Siamese fluff ball. She had rescued a young mama cat and five kittens from a feral colony. The kittens were in poor health. Despite Laura’s special care, three of the kittens died. The two remaining kittens needed homes with human parents who would give them hourly care. My husband and I drove from Sacramento to outside Salt Lake City to meet Laura. She encountered a traumatic issue with her vehicle on the drive. We were still too far away to offer more than verbal support via cell phone. The next day we met Laura for breakfast and the kitten hand-off. How I wish we had spent the day together, but we had an overnight drive ahead of us, and Laura was off to visit one of her brothers. We promised each other we would spend longer together next time. Our little Siamese fluff ball, Sir Madoc of Merrill, will be five years old on the 28th of this month. He brings a great deal of joy to our home! I thank Laura for Madoc many times a day! He has brought so much joy into our lives!”

Here is the last photo of us together when we met for breakfast for the Madoc handoff. And here also is Madoc as he looks today. He has brought so much joy into our lives!”

Our mutual friend Melinda told me of Laura’s condition, and that she had been moved to a care facility. By the time the cognitive decline started, Melinda, Meg, and I lived too far away to realize what was happening to her. We had been trying to get ahold of Laura for ages and were confused when she did not respond to our phone calls, texts, emails, or letters. Knowing Laura’s brilliant mind is no longer accessible to her is heartbreaking! I hope the notes I sent with photos of Madoc have brought her some joy and comfort.

Laura is blessed to have a family who cares for her and makes sure she is in a safe place. I am grateful to Melinda for visiting Laura, and for keeping me updated. Laura is in my daily thoughts and prayers. She will always have a special place in my heart, and every time I look at Madoc, I am reminded of the gift of friendship I have been given in Laura. I am truly blessed!

Candace Schmidle

March 15, 2025

Candace also shared this professional piece:

“Laura is one of the most brilliant women I have known in my career. As an entomologist she was outstanding, and as a colleague and friend, she was just the best in every way!

Laura Merrill, PhD, Entomologist-Ecologist

USDA Forest Service Pest Management

Department of National Defense, Environmental Science

Specialty in Forest Insects, Pathogens, and Their Relationships with Their Hosts

Laura is a highly respected entomologist. On one or two occasions, the USDA sent her overseas to entomology conferences.

A few of Laura’s research publications include:

• Dioryctria albovittella (Hulst) (Lep., Pyralidae) in shoots and cones of pinyon (Pinus edulis Engelm,) in Colorado – Journal of Applied Entomology, 1988
• Attraction of pinyon pine bark beetle, Ips hoppingi, to conspecific and I. confuses pheromones (Coleoptera: Scolytidae – Journal of Chemical Ecology – 1990
• Africanized Honey Bees: A New Challenge for Fire Managers by Laura D. Merrill and P. Kirk Visscher
• Response to Host Volatiles by Native and Introduces Populations of Dendroctonus valens (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) in North America and China
• Evaluation of Forest Pest Conditions on Los Coyotes Indian Reservations, San Diego County, CA
• Evaluation of Forest Pest Conditions on the Pauma Indian Reservation, San Diego County, CA

Laura accepted an entomology-ecology position with the Forest Service in San Bernardino, CA. She was a seriously dedicated employee. Laura truly cared about her impact on the environment and the people it affected. Laura was proud of her career, but never bragged about her accomplishments; from obtaining her PhD in entomology from UC Berkeley to her many publications. As previously mentioned, Laura is a well-respected entomologist. I do not think anyone understands the insect infestations in the San Bernardino Mountains as thoroughly as Laura does.

Faithful friend Paula Carl from University of Utah days remembers: Laura was always so funny and unique and I do have a lot of very fond memories of her. Which is why it is so heartbreaking that she has to suffer through this horrible disease. I haven't been up to see her for 4 or 5 weeks, and the last visit I believe it was the first time that she really didn't know who I was. [I honestly can't remember meeting Barbara Jean, except perhaps at her mom's funeral briefly.] Your mom graciously housed Laura's and my friend Janame Randa and me [in Washington, D.C.] the summer after our first year of college, and I believe that you (Barbara Jean) were moved away by then. I definitely remember John and Roger.

Paula further wrote: I first met Laura when we were assigned to be roommates as freshmen at the University of Utah in the fall of 1968. I don’t remember my very first meeting with her, but I quickly came to realize what a quirky and endearing person she was. She was funny and self-deprecating, and also so kind and generous. We used to laugh about Laura’s books and papers cascading from her desk onto the floor and beyond, and her futile attempts to keep her closet from exploding across the room. When I broke my leg on our firt day of ski class, Laura and my friend Janame hauled me into the emergency room of the U of U medical center, and Laura thereafter was so solicitous and kind. Our room was on the 4th floor of the dorm, and she would help load me into the dumbwaiter so I didn’t have to hop up and down the stairs on my crutches. She made fudgesicles runs in the evenings and helped me in the cafeteria.

After our first year of college, I got a summer job with USAID in Washington, D.C. Laura’s mother very generously invited me, and my and Laura’s friend Janame, to spend the summer in their home. I recall lots of fun times swimming in the neighbor’s swimming pool, cruising the shopping mall, and watching the 1969 moon landing with her mom and friends in their living room.

Laura and I returned to Salt Lake that fall, and completed the fall quarter at the U of U. Being pretty well lost in space at that time, we both dropped out of college and decided to return to Virginia and work for awhile. We shared a dumpy apartment in Alexandria, Virginia. Our landlord was Jewish and he had his antique shop and apartment next door. The space below us was rented by an Irishman who restored antique furniture and was incredibly racist and antisemitic. Interesting interactions. I had my paycheck stolen one week and had to borrow some money from Laura. I was a bit slow paying her back, and she would send me funny little invoices from“The Round Pisceans of the World,” an organization of which she was apparently the sole member and president. She always made me laugh!

I came back to Utah after about a year, and I think Laura stayed in Virginia. She married Tom Kirchner and we lost touch for a while. I visited her once in Fort Collins, Colorado right after she and Tom split up.

I believe that Laura then went on to U.C. Berkeley to complete her PhD. I visited her there once, and it was entertaining as usual! I remember she had a big bunny rabbit hopping all around her apartment, and several boxes full of dirt and insect larvae in various stages of development. She was also growing some sort of larvae in her refrigerator, very surprising when looking for food. Laura was always so completely herself!

I lost track of Laura for many years after that, but we reconnected at her mom’s funeral. We exchanged letters while she lived in Moreno Valley, and then when she lived in Yuma. I didn’t actually see her again until she moved up to Spring City. I visited her several times, and she was so proud of her burro and equine sanctuary. She loved those animals and took such good care of them. She also rescued cats from far and wide, and got them ‘fixed’ and vaccinated and chipped. And the dogs, too. She truly loved animals.

Laura was a unique and loving person. It breaks my heart that she has had to suffer this horrible disease. I will miss her dearly when she is called home, and the world will have lost a kind and bright light.

~ Paula Carl

A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, July 2, 2025 at 5 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church Relief Society Room, 2852 West 300 North, West Point, UT 84015.