Doretha Merrick, nurse who loved to help, dies at 83

Doretha Cynthia Merrick, a longtime Amityville resident and a registered nurse who spent years caring for patients across Suffolk County, died April 25 of congestive heart failure. She was 83.

Merrick's relatives said they remember her as a caring mother and a musician who loved visiting her patients and enjoyed listening and singing to jazz and Christian gospel tunes. She was a longtime choir member at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Amityville.

Her son, James Merrick III of Wheatley Heights, fondly recalled the sound of his mother's soprano voice around their home.

"My mom was the one who gave the love and affection," he said. "She was a very loving, caring person. She was very positive and upbeat."

Merrick received her nursing degree from St. Augustus College in Raleigh, N.C., and her master's degree in nursing from what then was Adelphi College, in Garden City, her son said.

Merrick, who was born in West Palm Beach, Fla., moved to Amityville in 1951 with her husband, James Merrick Jr., who worked as a civil engineer for the New York State Highway Department.

Early in her career on Long Island, Merrick served as the assistant director of nursing at Lakeside Hospital in Copiague and Brunswick Hospital in Amityville.

In the 1980s, she became a Suffolk County public health nurse. In this position, she visited patients in their homes for more than 20 years, her family said. She also cared for the legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, who died in 1967, they said.

"My mother loved taking care of people and being around people," her son said.

Merrick was active in her community for more than five decades. A member of St. Mary's Episcopal Church since the 1970s, she had served on the vestry in addition to singing in the choir. She also played piano and performed at several weddings and funerals, her family said.

Merrick had been president of the North Amityville Chapter of the American Cancer Society and had served on the board of trustees of the Copiague Library.

Her family said Merrick hosted large holiday celebrations. "Our house was open," her son said. "Everybody in the neighborhood would come over."

In addition to her husband and her son, she is survived by her daughter, Faith Merrick of Islandia; brother, Victor McHardy of Oviedo, Fla.; and sisters, Joan Mason of Newark, Del., Judy Deal of Green Acres, Fla., and Lucina Pete and Jennifer Wright, both of Atlanta.

A wake will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Powell Funeral Home in Amityville. Funeral services are at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Amityville.