January 13, 1938 – December 11, 2024
Merrilyn D. Colliver, Greenville, passed away Wednesday, December 11, 2024
in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was born to Merrill and Myrtle (Glancy) Talbott in Marion,
Indiana on January 13th, 1938. She graduated from Marion High School in 1956
and later received a B.A. in education from Miami University, Ohio. On January 23, 1960, Merrilyn married Robert T. Colliver. Bob preceded her in death on September 4, 2019.
Merrilyn lived a full life from start to finish. She was an expert in cards spending many hours playing euchre with her friends & family, a Cincinnati Bengals fan and season ticket holder from their founding, and lover of open wheel racing; making the annual pilgrimage to Indianapolis for the month of May with her family and other races across the midwest each year. From childhood, she enjoyed spending time on lakes in Northern Indiana — eventually owning her own property on Lake James. But her love of water was not exclusive to lakes. She was a lifeguard in her youth and later enthusiastically coached the “Green Wave” swim team.
Professionally, Merrilyn was a teacher for 40 years at Greenville Community Schools, but was an educator in all things her entire life. Her passion for education extended outside of the classroom where Merrilyn represented the Western Ohio Education Association and was President of the Greenville OEA. In those roles she proudly had the opportunity to lobby on behalf of area educators in Washington D.C.
She is survived by sons, Robert (Judy) Colliver of Fort Wayne, Indiana and Michael
Colliver of Bloomington, Indiana and grandchildren: Anthony, Jack & Shaylee, Taylor, and Thessaly. Merrilyn was preceded in death by sister, Betty (Paul) Cain, and brother, Terry Talbott.
Private service will take place in Greenville, Ohio with burial in Greenville Union
Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that contributions be made to either The Darke County Cancer Association or the Darke County Animal Shelter.
The family would like to extend special thanks to those who helped Merrilyn in her later years—Drew, Karrie, Becky, Dan & Mari