The Minor Family of Somerset

Eulogy of Merle E. Stitt (as given by Bruce W. Shaw)
Merle Stitt, as a firsttime visitor to Grand Canyon, called th
e Canyon the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Then in 197
2 he came to Grand Canyon as the Chief Executive.When he lef
t that position in January of this year, he was still seeing an
ddiscovering the special beauty of this wonderful country as h
e first saw it.
Merle Eugene Stitt was born in Newchester, Pennsylvania on Augus
t 8, 1920,into an era of rapidly changing values in this countr
y. An era of contrast of waste and want. He graduated from Are
ndtsville School. He attended Gettysburg College for a brief ti
me before moving on to Michigan University. Therehe received d
egrees in Forestry and Wildlife Management.
Merle served his country in war and in peace. He first served i
n the United States Navy duringWorl War II and during the Korea
n conflict he served in the U.S. Air Force in a civilian capacit
y as a survival technique specialist. In peace time he gave hi
s country and to his fellow man his skill and his knowledge an
d his service through his career in the National Park Service.
Over half of his lifewas given in service to others. He was pr
oud of his career in the Park service and though he spoke littl
e of his early Days in the Parks, there are thosein this room w
ho shared adventures with him at Grand Teton and at Yellowston
e and at Rocky Mountain. He enjoyed the trails and the beauty o
f Lassen Volcanic National Park as a chief ranger; and at the wo
nderful landscape at theCraters of the Moon National Monument M
erle as Superintendent.
Merle was anachiever. He inspired those around him. He buil
t confidence, friendship, and loyalty among those who worked wit
h him. He filled important positions inthe bureaucratic struct
ures of Washington D.C. and the Western Regional Office in San F
rancisco before his assignment to Grand Canyon.
His formative years were those when our country experienced som
e period of extravagance and depression. He saw the changing o
f society from rural to urban and the resulting demands on finit
e resources. He also saw the 1930's and the demeaning effect o
n people. His wartime experiences with its terrible waste of bo
th people and natural resources was insulting to his sense of va
lues. From these extremes he developed a philosophy that made h
im so valuable. A philosophy that balanced his concerns for peo
ple and for natural resources.
Merle was truly people oriented. He was a Christian who worke
d in his Church. He cherished his wife and family and he gave h
is life to his work. Much of his spare time was spent as he ful
ly involved himself with people by service in the community thro
ugh organizations: The Boy Scouts, The Rotary, and The America
nLegion.
The natural resources placed in his custody were for him the fin
al test of trust and he more than met that charge. Though he wo
n awards for hisoutstanding work in Arizona as a "Conservationi
st in Natural Resources", he shared with me several times that t
he work which was most satisfying to him was the personal contac
t and the service to the visitors - no matter the time nor the m
ost pressing needs of his office. Merle would go out of his wa
y toassist visitors, employees and his fellow man in general, w
hen there was a need.
Merle's years of leadership at Grand Canyon brought in to bein
g a new vision for the future of this Park and the scenery tha
t he found so beautifulhere. His sensitivity to the issues wil
l never be known by future generations of visitors to this Park
. New legislation doubled the size of the Park. Acomprehensiv
e master plan was completed. The Wilderness Recommendations we
re re-written to consider the new resources in the Park. The hi
storic values of the Park were recognized through the establishm
ent of historic districts that encompassed some irreplaceable bu
ildings