Deceased August 2, 2023
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IN MEMORY
Floyd Merritt died on Aug. 2, 2023.
At Amherst he was a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and Glee Club tenor. He received a magna cum laude degree in English literature and a start in his later career by working in Converse Library. He won a Fulbright scholarship, spending two years at Pembroke College in Cambridge, England, which gave him a second B.A. degree and an opportunity to travel among western European countries. Then back to Harvard for a master’s degree and Simmons College to obtain a master’s of library science.
Returning to Amherst, he had a major role in planning the replacement of Walker Hall with the new Robert Frost Library, dedicated in fall 1963 with an address by President John F. Kennedy just weeks before he was shot in Dallas. (This writer was in attendance.) Floyd worked at the library for 25 years as head of the reference department and the archives department.
Floyd grew up on a 200-acre farm in Goshen, Mass., just north of Northampton; he was educated for eight years in a two-room grammar school and then at the local Williamsburg High School, whose principal taught Floyd Latin as an adjunct to Floyd’s continual interest in horticulture, so he could use each plant’s Latin name. This Latin interest lasted his lifetime.
In retirement, Floyd continued to live in his family’s homestead with his mother, caring for her until she passed at age 105. He was passionate about bringing together students, faculty and books. Several years ago, the homestead was sold with its acreage, and Floyd moved to a retirement community in South Windsor, Conn., to be near his brother and his brother’s family.
Floyd had a somewhat reserved, thoughtful personality. Both class and College were fortunate.
Everett E. Clark ’51