Merritt Jay Wilson OBITUARY

Bennington, Vermont Merritt Jay Wilson, 91, passed away on Thursday February 1st, 2024, at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington. He resided at Brookdale with his wife Eleanor (Caton) Wilson, who he married in 1976. He is remembered as a man of great kindness, quiet ways, gentleness, and a beautiful sense of humor. Merritt was born on January 25, 1933, in Troy, NY, son of the late Harold E. and Mabel (Calhoun) Wilson. He attended the two-room school in Center Brunswick, NY, then Knickerbocker Junior High in Lansingburgh and graduated from Troy High School. He served in the Army from 1953-1955. He attained the rank of Corporal in Field Artillery Division, serving in Frankfort, Germany. After the service, he joined his brother Ronald to operate Wilson’s Service Station for twenty years. Then he was employed at Calhoun Construction in Brunswick, NY as a mechanic and later Calhoun Equipment in Melrose until retirement. Merritt enjoyed NASCAR, antique car shows, gardening and traveling. Survivors other than his wife Eleanor include his loving stepchildren Carolyn (Raymond) Copp, Barbara (Richard) Ackerman and Donna L. Cook, grandchildren, Loren (Lacy) Copp, Hannah Rose Ackerman, two great grandchildren, sister in-law Velma Wilson and six nieces and nephews. Merritt will be greatly missed by his family, friends and neighbors. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday February 7th at 11:00 am, from the Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street in Hoosick Falls, NY. Committal services with military honors will be on Wednesday at 1:30 pm at the Gerald B.H. Solomon/Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, NY. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home on Wednesday from 10:00 am until the start of the service. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.