The Honorable Ralph E. Merck

The Honorable Ralph Ernest Merck departed this life and passed on to life eternal on Saturday, June 27th. He was surrounded by his nearest and dearest. Born November 19th, 1949, to Martha Campbell Merck and Ernest George Merck in the small textile town of Porterdale, Georgia, Ralph was the baby of three. He had two siblings, sister Bobbie and brother Charles. When Ralph was four, his mother moved the family to Atlanta after his father’s disappearance. Here, Martha raised her children on her own in Capital Homes in downtown Atlanta. They eventually moved up to a duplex on Sylvan Road. In his mother Martha’s spirit, Ralph did not stand idle in the midst of obstacles. He graduated from Silvan Hills High School and obtained a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University in journalism and communication. Ralph worked his way through school with various jobs, like a shoe salesman at Davidson’s, for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a copy boy, and a favorite job of his, with Air South where he could be around airplanes and the spirit of travel.

While pursuing his degree, he met his loving wife of 52 years, Carol Wingfield, at the college radio station WRAS Album 88, where both were working as journalism majors. Ralph and Carol married on September 22, 1973, the year he graduated from Georgia State. He eventually determined a radio career was not for him. He went back to school, spending his days working as a salesman for his father-in-law, Chandler Wingfield, and his nights attending classes at the Woodrow Wilson School of Law. Ralph was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1977 and began practicing law for private groups, spending the majority of these years with firms McCurdy and Candler and Lynch and Powell.

For ten years, he served as a solicitor for the City of Decatur. Finally, in 1997, he was appointed Judge of the DeKalb County Recorder’s Court, which he honorably served until his retirement in 2013. He was awarded a Legal Pioneer Award by the DeKalb County Bar Association in 2014. He was given the Pioneer award for a lifetime achievement as a champion of justice.

Ralph was a gentle, honorable man. His wit could only be matched by his wife Carol’s. He had an undeniable appreciation for the finer things in life. Luckily, his success in his dedication to public service allowed him to enjoy some of these, like touring exotic places and a nicely tailored suit. Ralph traveled the world over many years, visiting 6 continents. He loved to go politicking and could work a room with ease. He read mountains of books, and people-watching was a beloved pastime of his.

Ralph and Carol have two children, David Merck and Sandra Waters. Between these two, they have five grandchildren: Tripp, Chandler, Amelia, Susannah, and Aryanna.

His grandchildren were his pride and joy. Grandpa, aka Papa Ralph, made the most loving grandfather, he was a solid support in all five of their lives.

Ralph was described as an old soul. People say he was born at the age of 42, when in the end it was clear that no age could describe him for he was whatever age the person he encountered required he be.