Don and Kay 3: Kids and Homes

In this final episode on Don & Kay's family, we watch the kids grow up and see them move around California and the Western United States a bit.

We start with a few pictures of the kids as they grew up.

Robin, Thelma, David, Kay, Don and Mark Merrill. July 1961.

Mark Merrill and grandpa Frank Nelson, 1962.

Mark's 4th birthday, December 1963.

Christmas card (probably 1962). Mark, Don, Robin, David and Kay Merrill.

Robin and Mark Merrill, February 1963, on the curb at 814 Cragmont, Berkeley, California.

Riding Grandma's Extremely Dangerous Flexible Flyer. February 1963, 814 Cragmont.

Robin and David Merrill, October 1965.

I loved this clever "live Christmas card".

Christmas card.
Kay, Robin, Mark, Don and David Merrill.

Eventually Don & Kay moved from Orinda into a "nicer house" at 772 Camino Ricardo, Moraga, California.

Don Merrill, November 1966.

Don, Kay, Mark, Robin, Thelma and David Merrill. Moraga, California. Halloween, 1966.

Robin, Kay, David, Don, Mark Merrill. Christmas 1967. Moraga, California.

David, Mark and Robin Merrill, 1967.

Kay Merrill, 1967.

David, Don, Mark, Kay and Robin Merrill. 18 June 1968.

Then in 1968, Robin got a horse for Christmas! Many years later, I wondered if getting a horse was like cases I've heard of where a kid gets a rabbit that they thought they really wanted, and then tires of it quickly. But when I asked Robin, "How was it having a horse when you were growing up?" she replied without hesitation, "It was WONderful!!"

Robin's Christmas present! Christmas 1968, Moraga, California.

I remember going to Don & Kay's house for Christmas Eve most years. It was a great tradition!

Don Merrill, Christmas Eve, 1969.

Kay was always quick to take off her glasses when people started taking pictures. With this family, that meant pretty much at any second.

Don and Kay Merrill, 29 April 1970.

Eventually they moved to Danville, California, in order to be able to keep the horse at home instead of boarding it elsewhere. Robin says that she loved riding in the vacant hills behind their house. She said that one day, she fell off the horse and it ran home without her. Kay heard the horse come galloping home, and thought, "Oh, Robin is back." Then she saw that the horse had no rider and worried until Robin walked home.

Mark, David and Robin Merrill, with "Mischief" and "Fluffy", 1970.

One day when our family was visiting, Leslie was playing with their new kittens, and she asked my dad if she could keep this one, with no hope he would say yes. He said, "Well, we'd better get two so they have company," and thus we went home with "Mischief" and "Fluffy".

Leslie with "Mischief". September 1970, Danville, California.

I remember it felt like going to the country to visit Don & Kay in Danville. Kay had these little pygmy goats that would butt you, which was kind of scary when you're a little kid (no pun intended), but it didn't actually hurt.

Kay and the pygmy goat.

Kay and friends, October 1972. Danville, California.

Robin and Emok(?), 1972.

Robin Merrill on her horse, 1973. (Kay on the left).

Mark Merrill and some tasty treats, 1974.

Baby pygmy goat, 1974.

In 1978, Don & Kay celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

Kay & Don Merrill, 25th wedding anniversary. 27 April 1978.

I thought it was cute that 25 years later, they're still looking into each others' eyes. ;)

Kay and Don Merrill, 29 May 1978.

Robin was the first of the cousins to get married. She married Bill Christensen in August 1978.

Bill Christensen and Robin Merrill, 27 April 1978.

I was always impressed that Kay had "wolves", too. (That's what the Alaskan huskies looked like to me when I was little.)

Kay and Thelma Merrill. May 1979.

I also loved her myna bird "Flaps" that sounded exactly like her. Flaps would say "Have a good day, Mark!" Apparently one day the phone rang, and Flaps said, "I'll get it!" so Don let it ring. When Kay asked why he didn't answer, he said that she told him she would get it!

Eventually Don & Kay moved back to another house in Moraga. We cousins were of course devastated that their new house didn't have horses or a pool. :)

Don and Thelma Merrill; Frank Nelson (Kay's father); Kay Merrill; Micky Olsen (realtor and long time friend)

Mark always had a certain flair for the spectacular.

Mark Merrill, September 1984.

David showed up at a family reunion once with Ann, and we were thrilled to have her join the family.

Ann Thomas and David Merrill, November 1984. Pleasanton, California (Bruce & Beth's back patio). 

Robin's kids were adorable. I remember Ben singing "Ssssip-pidy doo-dah! Sssssip-pidy-ay!"

Ben Christensen, 1983.

Thelma Merrill, Alex and Ben Christensen, Robin (Merrill) Christensen and Kay Merrill. November 1984.

Malcolm Merrill and Frank Nelson. May 1985.

Don Merrill

I'm out of pictures of Don & Kay's family from Grandpa Malcolm Merrill's collection at this point in the story (though a plethora exist in everyone else's collections), but Don & Kay went on to move to Ottumwa, Iowa, for a few years where I hear they had a big fancy house. (I was on my mission when my family visited them there). They eventually had a house built around the corner from Craig & Andrea in Provo, Utah, where we had great cousin parties.

Don was disappointed not able to be able serve a mission as a young man due to his obligations to serve in the military at that time. So after retirement, he and Kay served a mission in Florida.

They eventually sold their house in Provo to Bruce & Beth Merrill and moved to St. George.

And in 2004, when we were all debating about where to have a family reunion, Mark summarily dismissed all other plans and invited us to "The Mother of All Weddings," when he and Kaylene Murdock were married.

I had scanned and gathered these photos just before their 50th anniversary in 2003, so I put together a 23 minute video for them, which I'll use to close up this episode.

Kay & Don Merrill, newlyweds, 1953.

(Click to watch the video on YouTube)

What a wonderful family. I'm so glad we grew up so close by, and with so much love all around.

(Thanks again to David, Robin, Mark and my mom (Jean) for their help in gathering this information, most of which I hopefully got right. Photos came from my scans of Don's and Malcolm's slides, as well as a few from Mark and others over the years).