Obituaries

Obituary: John W. Merck, Federal Official and Veteran Fighter Pilot

Dr. Merck was an official in the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

John W. Merck, an Alexandria resident who worked with the offices of budget and veterans affairs, died March 9 at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital. He was 87.

Dr. Merck died of cardiac arrest and complications from a fall in November, his wife, Carolyn L. Merck, told The Washington Post.

Dr. Merck worked for the Office of Budget and Management from 1970 to 1990. He retired from federal service in 1994 as associate deputy assistant secretary for information analysis at the VA, according to an obituary in the Post.

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Born in Athens, GA, Dr. Merck served in the Army Air Forces during World War II, the Post reported. When the Air Force was formed, he joined and was a fighter pilot stationed on Okinawa, Japan. He left active duty in 1950 but remained in the Air Force Reerve until 1973, when he retired as a lieutenant colonel, the Post said.

His first wife, Jean Allgood Merck, died in 1971. Survivors include wife Carolyn Lawall Merck; two children from his first marriage, John W. Merck Jr. of Arlington County and Rebecca Coplon of Burke; a son from his second marriage, Geoffregy Merck of Springfield; a brother; and three grandchildren.

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