Dean Merck Family

Dean Eanes Merck Family

Gustave Albert & Ellen Franzen Family Baulser Van Buren Merck Family

DEAN MERCK FAMILY

Dean and I, who will be celebrating our fifty-second wedding anniversary on October 8, 1984, have lived in the Collegeport area longer than any of its residents.

Dean, the son of pioneers Mr. and Mrs. B. V. Merck, was born in Independence, Oklahoma, on July 20, 1907, and came to Collegeport in September of 1909. I am the daughter of pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. Gust Franzen, Sr., and was born in Essex, Iowa, on July 25, 1907, arrived in Collegeport with my folks on December 24, 1909, and spent the first night in Hotel Collegeport.

Dean attended the Collegeport School to the tenth grade. He was always mechanically-minded; worked for the Ford Assembly Plant in Houston and the Collegeport Fig Orchard in the 1920s. When he first became a farmer he raised Cotton, corn, maize, and peanuts. In 1938 he became a rice farmer and was chosen Rice Farmer of the Year in 1976. In his youth he played baseball on the Palacios and Bay City teams where it was not uncommon to hear, "Home run, Deanie Boy." For years he enjoyed flying his planes until he was restricted because of his heart condition. He has been very active in the community. He is an Elder in the Presbyterian Church and served as chairman of the building committee in 1955 when the present church was built and also on the Sadie-Ellen Hall committee when it was added to the church in 1969. The hall was named after Mrs. B. V. (Sadie) Merck and Mrs. Gust (Ellen) Franzen, our mothers. Dean served as school trustee. He is a member of the Volunteer Fire Department which was organized in our dining room. He is currently chairman of The Mopac House Foundation.

I attended the one-room school in DeMoss through the seventh grade. In 1921, I transferred to the Bay City High School. I remember the terrible flood in Bay City in May of 1922 when the Colorado River overflowed; when people traveled around town in boats.

In 1924 I accompanied Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Foulks, whose four children I took care of for my room and board, to Houston where I enrolled in Central High School. i can recall coming home on the train from Houston for the Christmas holidays in 1924 when everything was covered with ice following the most severe sleet-storm this country has experienced. I wondered how Louise Walter and I were going to get home as it was impossible for cars to travel on the frozen mud-roads. That night when the train pulled into the station, there stood Papa, bundled in all the clothes he owned, with that everlasting smile, saying, "Come, girls, I have rigged up the sled and you can get between the hay bales and cover up." And there he stood driving the team some four miles to our home. The next morning we saw dead animals all over the country.

Arnold, my brother, and I entered Rice Institute (University) in 1935 when our pastor, Reverend Paul Janes, influenced us to attend that college. I was graduated during the Great Depression in 1929 when jobs were not available anywhere. I thought to myself, I am never going back to live in the country nor am I going to marry a farmer. I spent the summer with my folks and helped pick cotton, hoping for something better. One day, Frank King, Collegeport School trustee, came by and asked, "Do you have a Teacher's Certificate?" When I asked him why, he told me that two of the teachers who had been hired had been hurt in a car wreck and had resigned. I spent five years in the school with a salary of $100.00 per month. I was living at home and when it rained I would ride Lulu to Collegeport.

I am a history buff--I have collected so much history about Collegeport which was founded on May 25, 1908, and opened on May 25, 1909. I have a collection of the Collegeport Chronicles and The New Era papers printed in Collegeport which i have had laminated or silk-screened for safe keeping; also, numerous pictures and articles about the Gulf Coast University of Industrial Arts, clippings and reports pertaining to the area. I spend lots of time with folks who are interested in our Collegeport history. I was an active member of the Home Demonstration Council and the American Red Cross. After Hurricane Carla in 1961, I bought supplies for the Mopac Kitchen and for weeks people came there to have dinner and supper while restoring the homes. (The Red Cross paid for the food.) I have held all of the offices of the Matagorda County Historical Society and Commission of which I am a charter member. Locally I am an Elder and clerk in the Presbyterian Church and secretary of the Women's Club and the Mopac House Foundation.

As you know, I married the farmer, Dean Merck. We have a son, Dean Franzen Merck (b. 1933), a civil engineer with the Texas Highway Department. He is married to the former Nelda Fay Wells, daughter of Rob and Ruby Wells. They have three sons: Mark who farms here with his grandfather; Russell, who went to work for General Electric Company in Lyn, Massachusetts, following graduation from Texas A & M; and Galen, a high school senior, who lives with his parents in League City, Texas.

Dorothy Merck - 1984

Historic Matagorda County, Volume II, pp 355-356

Family Reunion

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Dean Merck in Collegeport was the setting for the Merck family reunion on Saturday, May 30. This was the first time in many years that all the members of the family were present. All enjoyed reminiscing and the family-style buffet supper.

Attending were Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Legg of Bay City; Mrs. J. F. Kilpatrick and Mrs. C. E. Wilson of Dallas; Mrs. R. McRee and Mrs. M. Jack Martin of Houston; Mrs. John Merck of Collegeport; Mr. and Mrs. Dean F. Merck, Mark, Russell and Galen of League City; Miss Kay Legg and Pat Mahuren of Houston.

Palacios Beacon, June 4, 1970

81 Years Strong—Mr. and Mrs. Dean Merck stand in front of First Presbyterian Church of Collegeport, which the men of the church built in 1955. They both agree there is great strength in the community, and said that is what has kept it going the 81 years they have lived there, longer than anyone else.

Mercks Pillars of Collegeport
Helped Build Church, Secure Fire Department
By Marc Alley

Collegeport—Time and time again, it seems some of the best communities in the United States are also the smallest. What they lack in size, they more than make up for in strength.

Dean and Dorothy Merck of Collegeport say this community’s best strength is its unity, and they should know because they have lived here longer than any other resident.

Merck, the son of pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. B. V. Merck, was born in Independence, Okla,, on July 20, 1907, and came to Collegeport in September 1909.

Collegeport was founded by the Burton D. Hurd Land Co. on May 25, 1908. The grand opening was held on that same day the following year.

“I remember as a little kid that it was a ‘boom’ town, and everywhere you looked buildings were going up everywhere,” said Merck.

He said the land company’s plan was to have the landowners raise several different varieties of vegetables and fruits, and make lots of money from that. But there was just one big problem.

“We could raise them to a certain extent, but we had no market for them,” he said.

Mrs. Merck, the daughter of pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. Gust Franzen Sr., was born in Essex, Iowa, on July 25, 1907, and also came to Collegeport in 1909, arriving on Christmas Eve.

“They told my mother not to bring any warm clothing with her because it never gets cold down here,” said Mrs. Merck, who added Collegeport was described as the newest paradise in 1908 to draw more people to the area. From 1908 until about 1914 that philosophy worked.

“The real break-up happened in 1914 when the charbon hit this county, and practically cleaned out the livestock, “said Merck.

Also known as Anthrax, a malignant, infectious disease of cattle and other livestock, Merck said its devastating effects could be seen everywhere.

To try and keep the disease from spreading, farmers were made to burn dead animals entirely.

“They had to ship in crude oil, and they would throw crude oil on them to burn them to that extent,” he said. “It was a terrible thing, you would just see fires everywhere.”

So within five years of the opening of the town, Merck said, “Everybody practically left who had enough money to get away.

The Mercks and the Franzens were two of the families who stayed and learned to get along in the county. Merck said “We’ve done all right. But we didn’t do it with any scheme that they (the land company) had.”

“These people who stayed here have found that the land is rich, and they have done well,” said Mrs. Merck. She said once the farmers learned to farm the land, and especially once they got tractors, “A lot of them have done very well.”

Merck attended the Collegeport School until the 10^th grade and Mrs. Merck finished high school in Bay City. She and her brother, Arnold, entered Rice Institute (University) in 1925 when their pastor, the Rev. Paul Janes influenced them to attend that college.

After returning from college, she met a friend in Bay City who said two gentlemen from Collegeport, one of them Dean Merck, were in town, and that they could get a free ride home with them.

“My friend said let’s draw straws to see how we’re going to sit, so I drew Dean,” she said.

The Mercks will be celebrating their 58^th wedding anniversary Oct. 8. And although she said she would never marry a farmer, she said she is very glad she did.

We’ve had a very happy marriage,” said Mrs. Merck. “My mother said we would never get along because we’re both hard headed, but we’ve gotten along.

Both are Elders at First Presbyterian Church, and Merck served as chairman of the building committee in 1955 when the present church was built.

“He drew the plans, a farmer! Our son drew it to scale,” said Mrs. Merck.

Merck said he thought the building of the church brought the community closer together.

“When we need something, I’m talking about the community, we work together,” said Merck. “The men of the church built it. People said we couldn’t do it, but we did.”

Merck also served as chairman on the building committee when the Sadie-Ellen Hall was added to the church in 1969. The hall was named after Mrs. B. V. (Sadie) Merck, his mother, and Mrs. Gust (Ellen) Franzen, her mother.

Also very active in the community when Collegeport wanted to start a volunteer fire department, they made the plans right in the Mercks’ house.

“County Commissioner, George Harrison, came to me and said if you would form the fire department, and had a place to put a truck, the county would buy you a truck,” said Merck. So a whole group gathered in the Mercks’ dining room to finalize plans, and the Collegeport Volunteer Fire Department was started Feb. 2, 1965.

In June of that same year, the Mopac House Foundation, was given an easement by the fire department, which Merck said was a good idea.

“That land actually belongs to the community,” said Merck. “And as long as I’m the head of it, we’re not going to dispose of it”

Merck was also involved in the building of Mopac House, of which he is currently chairman.

“We had an old man in our community, H. A. Clapp, who wanted to have a community house; he didn’t like everything held in our church,” said Mrs. Merck. “So he prevailed on the Missouri-Pacific Railroad to either give or sell us the depot when they terminated service to Collegeport.”

Clapp was successful. When the depot was torn down, the railroad gave the lumber to the town so they could build the community house, which opened in May 1935. As a gesture, it was named with the initials of the railroad company.

Of all his memories, Merck said he has probably gotten the best from farming.

“I have had a great pleasure from farming,” said Merck, who started farming rice in 1938. He farmed as much as 400 acres at one time and was chosen Rice Farmer of the Year in 1976.

As for Mrs. Merck, she said the strength of the community is a great memory for her.

“We have the ability to work together, and that’s what keeps things going,” she said.

For over 80 years ago, two families saw hope in a small town in South Texas that made them stay when many others packed and left. Today, right down at the end of the road and just before the street which is named after them, the Mercks keep that same hope alive and well.

Daily Tribune, September 4, 1990

Dean Eanes Merck

Dean Eanes Merck, 89, of Collegeport, passed away Wednesday, January 22, 1997 at the Palacios Bay Nursing and Rehab Center, Palacios, TX. He was born July 20, 1907 in Independence, Okla. to Baulser V. Merck and Sadie Moore Merck. He came to Collegeport, with his parents, two brothers and five sisters in September 1909. He attended school in Collegeport, was an active athlete, and enjoyed playing baseball. It was not uncommon to hear “Home Run, Deanie Boy!” when he played on the Palacios baseball team. He enjoyed flying and piloted his own airplane, until he was not able to renew his pilot’s license due to heart trouble. He was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Collegeport where he was an Elder and Sunday School Teacher. As Chairman of the Building Committee, he directed the construction of the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall. He was recognized by his church for his 40 years of active service on the Session. He was also chairman of the Mopac House Foundation and an active member of the Collegeport Volunteer Fire Department, which was organized around his dining room table. He began his farming career farming cotton and later began farming rice in 1938. He enjoyed farming and was named Matagorda County’s 1976 Rice Farmer of the Year by the Bay City Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of the Matagorda County Historical Commission and served as a Director of the Matagorda County Museum. He was a member of the Matagorda County Historical Society. At the 1992 Heritage Day Celebration, Dean E. Merck was presented a plaque, dedicated to an Outstanding 20^th Century Pioneer, by the Matagorda County Historical Society. He was also a member of the Hawley Cemetery Association in Blessing. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy F. Merck, a son and daughter-in-law, Dean F. and Nelda Merck of League City, by his grandsons, Mark Merck and his wife Cathy, Russell Merck and his wife Hayes, and Galen Merck. He is also survived by his great grandchildren, Danyelle Merck and Matthew Merck and by a host of family and friends. Funeral services will be held 2 p. m. Saturday, January 25, at Taylor Brothers Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Dave Gallaher officiating. Interment will follow at Hawley Cemetery, in Blessing. Pallbearers will be Mark Merck, Russell Merck, Galen Merck, G. W. Franzen, Derril Franzen and Wesley Franzen. Arrangements are with Taylor Bros. Funeral Home, Bay City, TX.

Daily Tribune, January 24, 1997

Photo courtesy of Find A Grave volunteer Chuck Taylor #20369908

DOROTHY MERCK

Dorothy Merck, 94, of Collegeport died April 8, 2002 at Matagorda House Nursing Home. She was born July 25, 1907 to the late Gustav Albert and Ellen Augusta Blandlund Franzen. Mrs. Merck was a member of the Collegeport Presbyterian Church and a longtime resident of Collegeport.

Survivors include: daughter-in-law Nelda Merck of League City; brothers, Alex Franzen of Collegeport and James Franzen of Pearl River, La.; three grandchildren, Mark Merck and wife Cathy of Collegeport, Russell Merck and wife Hayes of Cromwell, Conn., and Galen Merck of League City; two great grandchildren, Danyelle and Matthew Merck both of Collegeport. She was preceded in death by her husband Dean E. Merck; by son, Dean F. Merck; sisters, Mamie Wells and Emma Bryan; brothers, Clifford, Gustave "Goose" and Arnold Franzen.

Funeral service will be 2 p.m. Thursday, April 11, 2002, at Taylor Bros. Funeral Home with the Reverends Andy and Janell Blair officiating. Interment will follow at Hawley Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Mark, Russell, and Galen Merck, G. W., Derril, and Wesley Franzen. Honorary pallbearer will be Matthew Merck. The family will receive friends Wednesday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at Taylor Bros. Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the Collegeport Presbyterian Church.

Arrangements are with Taylor Bros. Funeral Home. A00014B2002AR10

THE BAY CITY TRIBUNE, Wednesday, April 10, 2002

DEAN F. MERCK

Mr. Dean F. Merck, 68, passed away in a local hospital, Saturday, September 22, 2001.

A resident of League City, he was raised in Collegeport, Texas, a small farming community outside of Bay City.

Dean was a graduate of The University of Houston and worked for the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation as a Civil Engineer.

Survivors include: wife, Nelda Merck of League City; mother, Dorothy Merck of Bay City; sons and their wives, Mark and Cathy Merck of Collegeport, Russ and Hayes Merck of Cromwell, CT, Galen Merck of Clear Lake; grandchildren, Danyelle and Matthew Merck.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, September 24, 2001 in the Jack Rowe Funeral Home. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, September 25, 2001 in Friendswood "Friends" Church with interment to be held at 2 p.m. in the Hawley Cemetery, Bay City [Blessing]. A00011A2001SP25

THE DAILY TRIBUNE, Tuesday, September 25, 2001

Photo courtesy of Heather Serrill Janise

Nelda Fay Merck
December 08, 1934 - October 19, 2020

Nelda Fay Merck, 85, of League City passed away on October 19, 2020. She was born December 8, 1934 in Collegeport, Texas to the late Robert Lee & Ruby Virginia Jenkins Wells.

In 1953, Nelda married Dean F. Merck, also from Collegeport. Soon after their marriage, Dean was drafted into the army. His two-year tour of duty in Japan left Nelda alone to care for their new son Mark. The couple later settled in League City where they had two more sons, Russell and Galen. Dean passed away in 2001. Nelda continued to live in League City until her passing. She should be remembered as a devoted and loving mother and faithful Christian.

Nelda was preceded in death by her parents; husband: Dean F. Merck; and grandson: Matthew Merck. She is survived by her 3 sons: Mark, Russell, and Galen Merck; sister: Virginia Rhymes; and granddaughter: Danyelle Hart.

The family will receive visitors from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Thursday, October 22, 2020 at Taylor Bros. Funeral Home with the funeral service following at 2:00 PM with Pastor Bruce Goodlock officiating. Interment will follow at Hawley Cemetery in Blessing. Pallbearers will be: Mark Merck, Russell Merck, Galen Merck, G. W. Franzen, Derril Franzen, and Wesley Franzen.

Taylor Bros. Funeral Home

Matthew Ethan Merck
(December 18, 1990 - April 1, 2018)

Matthew Ethan Merck, 27, of Palacios, passed away April 1, 2018. He was born December 18, 1990 in Bay City, TX to Mark Edward and Cathy Hunter Merck.

Matthew was preceded in death by his grandparents: Dean Franzen Merck, and Julius and Helena Hunter. He is survived by his parents Mark and Cathy Merck; sister Danyelle Merck Buckingham (Bert) of Richmond, TX; grandmother Nelda Merck of League City, TX; niece Adyson Merck, and great aunt and uncle Ginger and Jug Rhymes.

The family will receive friends and relatives 5:00-7:00pm Monday, April 9 at Palacios Funeral Home. Services are 2:00pm Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at First Presbyterian Church of Palacios with Rev. Chuck Kimball officiating. Interment will follow at Hawley Cemetery in Blessing. Pallbearers are Loren Corporon, Jake Schneider, Blaine Adams, William Diaz, Dillon Franzen and Joey Kacal. Honorary pallbearers are Justice Hart, Hagan Shimek, Johnny Piwonka, John Glenn, Micah Glover, Rusty Kubecka and Tyler Broussard.

In memory of Matthew the family has set up a "Matthew Merck Memorial Fund" located at First Financial Bank of Palacios; 459 Main; Palacios Texas 77465. For further info contact Katherine Mathews @ 361-972-1186.

Taylor Brothers Funeral Home

Copyright 2008 - Present by the Merck Family All rights reserved
Created Mar. 02, 2008	Updated Jan. 19, 2022

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