Joseph "Joe" Merhiy

Joe Merhiy, age 99, of Twin Valley, Minnesota, died Saturday, April 18, 2009, in the Palliative Care Unit of MeritCare Hospital, Fargo, North Dakota. Joseph “Joe” Merhiy was born March 12, 1910, the son of Hassen and Elizabeth (Milker) Merhiy in Fargo where he lived for a few years. When he was 12, both of Joe’s parents died at a young age, resulting in him and his two brothers and two sisters going to the Wild Rice Children’s Home east of Twin Valley in May of 1922. Around 1927, Joe went to work on a farm in Michigan, North Dakota for a time. He then was employed by McCormick Transfer in Fargo. From there Joe returned to the orphanage and worked there until it burned the night of March 18, 1931. He remained working at the Children’s Home after it burned until moving to Davenport, North Dakota, where he worked as a mechanic with his brother, Smylie. Joe, Smylie, and other friends worked for the WPA clearing timber for the locks on the Mississippi River in the late 1930’s. Joe was united in marriage to Lorraine Wisk in 1941. Joe served his country from 1941-1945, spending one year in Fort Meade, South Dakota, and the other years doing reconnaissance missions in Germany, Belgium and France as a member of the 4th Calvary. The 4th Calvary spearheaded the D-Day invasion, June 6, 1944. Of the original 130 men in his troop, only 26 remained at the end of the war. He also proudly spoke of escorting around J. Lawton Collins, Lt. General, U.S. Army. After his honorable discharge in 1945, Joe was employed by Douglas Aircraft in California for about a year and a half. He then returned to Twin Valley to work for Morris Erickson, who owned a garage. He became a “jack of all trades”, making fishing gear and snow planes. In 1955, Joe was employed by the United Postal Service as a substitute mail carrier, which he continued to do for the next 23 years. In 1960, Joe and Ray Gunderson put in the Twin Valley Laundromat and the garage which was attached to it and started Joe’s Garage. He sold gas and oil at the garage as well as continuing his mechanic work. He closed the laundromat in 1998, but continued to operate his tackle shop until retiring in 2006. Joe resided at the Lincoln Terrace from December, 2006, until the time of his death. Joe’s favorite past times included bowling and playing cards as well as being an avid fisherman. He was also a member of the Twin Valley VFW and the American Legion. Joe is survived by a sister, Marian Shoemaker, of Detroit Lakes, MN; nieces and nephews, Nancy (Harold) Ebens, Jane (Tim) Miller, Dean (Cathy) Merhiy, Linda (Frank) Seaberg, Lawrence Merhiy and Elizabeth Rubio. He is preceded in death by his parents, two brothers and one sister. Funeral Services was held on Friday, April 24, 2009, at 2:00 PM, in the Anderson Funeral Home Chapel, Twin Valley. Burial was taken place in the Twin Valley Memorial Garden Cemetery.

Joseph "Joe" Merhiy

March 12, 1910 - April 18, 2009