Merry Glass

Merry Jeanette Glass of Canonsburg, PA passed away of cancer on August 24, 2023. Merry Meissner was born on August 6, 1945 in Dayton, Ohio – the day of the Hiroshima bombing. She grew up in the Mentor Ohio Headlands. The daughter of Frederick and Mata, and the little sister of Mata (Dee), Marilyn,and Fred (Skip). She loved Lake Erie and her dog, Murphy. Her mom was a single mother while Merry was small and worked several jobs to make ends meet. Merry was often looked after by her sisters and had plenty of time alone to develop her imagination.

Her childhood home was a summer cottage on the lake, so kinda drafty in the winter. Things got a bit easier when Mata married Bob Parker, a fellow animal lover. 

Merry had an epic high school experience. She drank Pepsi and ate Reese's Cups. She was voted best dancer. She had shapely, skinny legs. She dated football star, Ronnie. She hung with a big, tight group of girls: Barb, Bobbi, Carol, June, Nancy, Sue, and Sherry. They stayed friends to the end. Vacationing together, building questionable sandcastles, arguing about politics, taking ridiculous photos, loving and supporting each other though all kinds and jobs and husbands and births and deaths. Merry also stayed in touch with Lynn and Donna who brought her much joy.

In 1967, Merry was working as a secretary at TRW in Cleveland, when a co-worker, Lois, suggested she date Lois's son, Richard. Merry married R.C. Glass later that same year. Two years later, their daughter Amy was born, and three and a half years after that, Kristen arrived on the scene. Merry was a stay-at-home mom and also a secretary. She loved and was excellent at both jobs.

She lived in lots of places. Moving with Rich's post office career. She made friends everywhere she went. Most notably Mary in Erie. They shared many home perms, hot balls, and so much love and laughter. Lani was also a dear friend. She met Peg in Pittsburgh – they had many long, good talks, and shared opinions.

Merry was a fantastically gifted, untrained painter – oil and watercolor. And she could draw very well. She was super word smart. An excellent writer and editor. A superb Scrabble player, she played online internationally and always won (except when she let someone beat her in order to keep them interested in continuing to play). She was an avid discount shopper. TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Tuesday Morning – if you couldn't get her on the phone, she was either pushing a retail shopping cart, cleaning something, or mellowing in the bathtub. She was the person who ran around the house in a crazy thunderstorm springing open all the windows. She slathered butter on all the things. She sunbathed. She ordered egg salad and spaghetti and meatballs at restaurants that did not have them on the menu with great conviction. She let kids steer the car home from the beach when they were 12. Her children could tell her what things they were actually up to when they were teenagers with zero judgement. She took disco classes. She was a devoted Democrat and used her iPad as a defensive weapon. She swore. She hated cooking. She was obsessed with, and quite talented at, home decor, plants, and gardening – she had an enviable green thumb. She absolutely adored her grandbabies and was a proud aunt to many nieces and nephews. She loved animals of all feathers, fur, and scales. Her beloved, 9,000 year-old cat, Della, has survived her, as she predicted. She dug the funk tunes. And she had the very best sense of humor.

She was mother-in-law to Michael and James, and Gram of Mia, Olivia, Kathryn, and William.

Sweet dreams, Frank. We love you, and will miss you more than you could ever, ever know. 

There will be a funeral service at 11:00 am on Friday, September 8 at First Church Washington, in Washington, PA: https://firstchurchwashington.org. The burial will immediately follow at 12:30 pm at the National Cemetary of the Alleghenies in Washington, PA: https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ncalleghenies.asp . A catered celebration of life will also take place on Friday the 8th at 5:00 pm at Left Field Meeting Space on the North Shore of Pittsburgh: https://www.leftfieldmeetings.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a Tribute Donation in Merry's name to the Washington Area Humane Society at https://www.washingtonpashelter.org. She would love that a lot.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Merry Glass, please visit our floral store.