R.I.P. SEN. NORMAN MERRELL

We pause today to note with sadness the passing of a giant of Missouri government of the last quarter century. Sen. Norman L. Merrell, D-Monticello, represented his northeast Missouri district for 24 years before succumbing to cancer last week.

Sen. Merrell was the first Missouri senator to serve three terms as Senate President Pro Tem, that body's highest and most powerful office. He was also serving as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations committee at the time of his death. The grueling duties and long hours of the latter position test the energies and patience of a healthy young person, much less those of a 69-year-old man battling cancer.

Sen. Merrell served his country in World War II in the Army Air Corps. He then embarked on a career in education, with service as a teacher, principal and local superintendent. In 1970, he was elected to the first of six terms in the Missouri Senate, where he soon emerged as a formidable leader of what is sometimes called the rural bloc of legislators. Still, he always maintained a vision of the needs of the entire state, both urban and rural. Another constant was his unshakable integrity. Together with hard work, these qualities led his colleagues to repose great confidence in him, as is indicated by the leadership positions to which they elected him.

Sen. Merrell was an uncommon public man. We salute his service to all the people of Missouri.