Dana Noyes Merrill II, 90

Dana Noyes Merrill II was born July 24, 1934, in Cleveland and died June 1, 2025, in Littleton. He was the son of Dana Noyes Merrill, a mechanical engineer killed at age 30 in an explosion at the Glidden Paint plant in Chicago, and Ruth Elizabeth Emerson, an elementary school teacher. Dana grew up in Cincinnati, where he attended Walnut Hills High School; his whole life he sang the praises of his teachers there and the high quality of education he received. His higher education included a bachelor’s degree in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA in finance from NYU’s Graduate School of Business Administration.

Dana’s grandfather was Dana True Merrill, a brigadier general in the U.S. Army, and Dana served in the Army in Europe and in the Army Reserve. His career in finance started out in New York City at N.Y. City Bank and on Wall Street and continued in investments and portfolio management at a number of Boston firms, including Loomis Sayles, Rollert and Sullivan, Boston Security Counselors, and Trust and Fiduciary Management Services (TFMS).

Dana’s great-uncle was Elmer Drew Merrill, director of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston from 1935 to 1946. He was also the Arnold professor of botany at Harvard University and was a professor emeritus until 1956.

Dana had one sister, Ellen Claire Merrill Calvert (1935-2017).

Dana Merrill loved math and science and had an affinity for engineering. His Scientific American magazines and books were important to him his entire life. He loved cars and machinery and tools and old houses. He wanted to know how things were built and how they worked.

He loved building furniture and made many beautiful reproductions of colonial and Shaker furniture from museum-quality kits (mainly Bartley Collection, Cohasset Colonials, and Shaker Workshop): dining tables and chairs, highboys, canopy bed, clock, end tables, desks, rocking chairs, as well as a canopy bed, clock, candle stand, multi-paneled room divider screen, and a mahogany rocking horse and child-size Shaker rocking chair for his son Eli. His family uses these lovely pieces of furniture every day.

Dana appreciated quality. He liked fine dining and cuisine of all kinds as long as it was of the highest quality. Japanese sushi was a favorite and was the last thing he requested when he was in the hospital. He loved classical music and was a subscribing member of the Handel & Haydn Society for decades; attended Boston Ballet, especially during the years when Eli was involved; was a Huntington Theater subscriber; and attended BSO, Celebrity Series, and many other concerts.

He was an enthusiastic supporter of Elijah’s violin lessons and recitals, orchestras, chamber music, and Kinhaven Music Camp. He commissioned a violin to be made for Eli by well-known luthier friends Moes and Moes and bought an antique Sartori bow to be used with it. He loved early music and harpsichord; he even investigated harpsichord kits, thinking he might build one. But when his mother left him some money, he decided rather than upgrading the furnace or making other repairs to the early 1700s house he and his family lived in, that now was the time to buy a harpsichord from the Hubbard workshop in Waltham that he and his musician wife Marsha had visited on numerous occasions. That is how his family became the proud owners and listeners of a magnificent harpsichord (replica of a 1747 Haas German double manual).

Dana was interested in the music of his wife and also her piano students. As his health declined and he spent more time in bed, the music from his wife’s piano students would drift up to him from the first floor where the piano lessons took place, and he would often ask who was that playing just now or what piece it was and would make a comment such as: “I really like that.” “That was pretty.” “He/She is really improving.” In the nursing home these past weeks, he said one of the things he missed was hearing the piano students.

An avid reader, he read not only science and math but also history, economics, politics, philosophy and religion (Karen Armstrong and Joseph Campbell were among his favorites), and literature, classical and mysteries (John le Carré, P.D. James, etc.).

Since his college years he was interested in different religions. Though he was a member of several Protestant denominations throughout his life, his interest in Judaism dated back to high school and teachers he had at Walnut Hill. During college he took some classes at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He had Indian and Nepali friends and was interested to know more about their Hindu practices.

In Acton, after he married Marsha Martin, he joined her church, Trinitarian Congregational Church. He was particularly interested in mission and social justice issues and served on those church committees. He also became very active in the historic City Mission Society of Boston, serving on its board and participating in a number of their projects, especially those helping the homeless. He was also instrumental in a homeless program in Dorchester started by a friend.

As the father of Elijah, now a grown man, he always wanted updates on his work and was very proud of his accomplishments. When Dana’s congestive heart failure reduced his activity to being at home except for doctor appointments or an occasional haircut, he would say as Marsha left, “Have fun,” or “Drive carefully,” and when she returned, he would ask how the concert was or the religious service or the class or her students’ recital, or her special needs chorus rehearsal. It was his link to the world — in addition to watching CNN many hours a day.

Dana was angered by discrimination and unfair treatment against people of different races, cultures, religions, gender, and economic status. He valued and appreciated intelligence and the products of outstanding intellect. He admired good, high-quality craftsmanship. He was put off by crudeness, sloppy thinking, coarseness, and lack of manners. He had high standards.

His favorite place in the whole world was Moosehead Lake in northern Maine, where he had spent many happy hours as a youth with his grandfather. He never tired of recounting the memorable trips he and his grandfather made with Indian guides. He called it God’s Country.

He spent his final weeks looking forward to the daily visits from his family, especially being given a lollipop and a hug from his 2½-year-old granddaughter Sophie.

He is survived by his wife Marsha Martin of Maynard; son Elijah Alexander Martin-Merrill and his wife Summer Wang, and their daughter Sophie, all of Littleton.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday, July 26, at Trinitarian Congregational Church, 54 Walden Street.

In lieu of flowers, since Dana was a strong advocate and volunteer for the Boston City Mission Society, especially for their work on behalf of the homeless, and since that organization closed in 2023, please consider making a donation to the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, bhchp.org/donate.

Arrangements under the care of Acton Funeral Home, concordfuneral.com.