In Memoriam: William Merrill 1930-2014

William Merrill faced a stark reality in 1939 when he was 9 years old: His father had just died, and he had to go find work to help take care of his mom and sister.

Merrill did whatever he could for work in his hometown, Glencoe, Minn., a small city west of Minneapolis. He worked at a hardware store, picked cherries and even worked on the town's railroad.

That work ethic soon translated to other roles. He was a multisport star high school athlete, who later played quarterback at the University of Minnesota. He graduated law school, joined the U.S Air Force and rose to the rank of captain and was a Judge Advocate General. And when Merrill moved to Sarasota, in 1956, he co-founded a law firm, Icard Merrill, that's now one of the largest firm's in the Sarasota-Bradenton region.