Glade Merkley
Glade Ohman Merkley, age 73, passed away Dec. 4, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born June 19, 1944, in Tridell, Utah, to Clyde Emil Merkley and Esther Alberta Ohman. He grew up in Tridell and attended elementary school in Tridell and Whiterocks and then junior high in Alterra. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Glade was on the wrestling team while attending Union High School and was the State Class B wrestling champion at 120 lbs. his senior year. After graduating from high school, he attended Dixie State College. He joined the US Army and served 3 years – two tours in Vietnam. He flew in the Mohawk aircraft as an infrared surveillance reconnaissance photographer. Glade was a very talented musician and played the piano and guitar. He also had a great singing voice, and after his service in the military he spent some time in Kodiak, Alaska, as a performer. He met Jeri Smith on July 17, 1977, and they were married on January 17, 1978, in Las Vegas. Glade had an entrepreneurial spirit and owned businesses in Roosevelt and Vernal, Utah, and also in Borger, Texas. He was a good employer and always took care of others. He loved hunting arrowheads on the hills around his childhood home in Tridell. When everyone else thought the arrowheads had all been found, he could always find more. He never left the hills empty-handed. Another of his favorite pastimes was spending time on his boat at Flaming Gorge. His greatest love was his family, and his two grandchildren were his pride and joy.
Glade is survived by his wife, Jeri, and his children and grandchildren: Clinton Glade Merkley (son), Jenell Lee Peters (daughter), Brooklynn Nicole Peters (granddaughter) and Dylan Ray Peters (grandson). He is also survived by his siblings: Clyde Errol Merkley (Janet), Tridell, Utah; Deon Merkley Richards (Lynn), Mantua, Utah; John Albin Merkley (Judy), Smithfield, Utah; Beryl Merkley Trujillo, West Jordan, Utah; Gordon Merkley (Audrey), Tridell, Utah; Clifford Ohman Merkley (JoAnn), Tridell, Utah; and Delbert Ohman Merkley (Julie), Orem, Utah. He is preceded in death by his parents: Clyde and Esther Merkley, and a brother-in-law, Donald Trujillo.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 9, 2017 at 11AM at the Tridell LDS Church. A viewing will be held Friday evening from 6-8PM at the Ashley Valley Funeral Home and Saturday 9:45-10:45AM at the Church. Interment will be in the Tridell Cemetery with Military honors provided by the American Legion Post 64 and the Utah National Guard. Services are under the direction of the Phillips Ashley Valley Funeral Home.
