SPRING HOPE- David Thomas Merritt, 71, died Tuesday June 15, 2010 in the VA Medical Center, Durham. Funeral services were Friday morning, June 18, 2010 in the Chapel of Bright Funeral Home, with Rev. Ken Bartholomew officiating. Burial followed in Lancaster Memorial Park in Louisburg.

He was born in Wake County, son of the late Mary Bett Brown Merritt and Jones Marshall Merritt. He was retired from the printing department with the N.C. Department of Corrections and was a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Surviving: wife, Betty Murray Merritt; daughters, Melanie Jones and Michelle Logan (Reed) of Garner; son, Ken Bartholomew (Charlotte) of Newport; sister, Charlie Ann Merritt of Raleigh; and four grandchildren.

Flowers accepted or memorials may be made to Duke Memorial Baptist Church, 3976 N. NC Hwy 581, Spring Hope, NC 27882 or to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 5216, Glen Allen, Va. 23058.

A service of Bright Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Wake Forest.www.brightfunerals.com