William Meroff

1916 – 2009

DOVER, N.H. – William Meroff, 92, resident of Langdon Place in Dover, died Saturday, Nov.14, at Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, following a long illness.

He was born on Dec.12, 1916, in Philadelphia, Pa., a son of Harry and Rose Meroff. He was educated in Philadelphia schools and graduated from West Philadelphia High School and Drexel University.

On Jan. 24, 1944, he married Lillian Freeman of Lisbon Falls, in Brooklyn, NY.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and was awarded a Purple Heart for his action in the Pacific. He was also active with the Pennsylvania National Guard, Air Force Flying Cadets and the R.O.T.C. He worked for many years for the U.S. Department of Defense, retiring in 1977.

He played the violin in several community orchestras, most recently as a member of the Androscoggin Valley Community Orchestra in Lewiston. As a member of the Writers Group (in absentia) in Brunswick, he wrote and published stories and poems. He also enjoyed spending time fishing and boating and in fact, for several years, pulled his own lobster traps.

Survivors include a son, William H. and his wife, Mary Meroff, of Rollinsford, N.H.; two daughters, Doreeta F. and her husband, Norman McCauley, of Jefferson, Ga., and Deborah R. Meroff of London, England; a sister, Ida Sigmond of Jenkintown, Pa.; four grandsons; eight great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife, Lillian, who died in 2004; a daughter,
Donna Lee Meroff, who died in 1949; and a sister, Florence Axelroth.