Eleanor Alice Merrick Tobias

Franklin, NC - "Within our hearts the ones we love are never really gone....In spirit and in memory their legacy lives on." Eleanor Alice Merrick Tobias of Franklin, NC passed away peacefully in her sleep with her son, Gary Murphy, by her side, on November 30, 2011. She had just reached the milestone age of 95 on November 28.

Mrs. Tobias was born in Tunnel, NY to Stanley and Florence Woodman Merrick, November 28, 1916. Mr. Merrick was a farmer, moving from Illinois to a farm he purchased in 1913. The family lived on the Tunnel farm until a devastating fire destroyed their home. Mrs. Merrick became very ill and they returned to Illinois in 1922, staying with various relatives until they could, after several months, become a family again on a farm near Barrington, IL. Mrs. Merrick had survived her illness, and Mrs. Tobias often enjoyed relating the story of that reunion, where the whole family joined hands and danced around their empty "new" house.

Mrs. Tobias is survived by her two children, Gary Murphy, his wife Virginia, five children and four grandchildren; daughter, Gail Lee and husband Allen of Northern California, four children and 13 grandchildren; her elder sister, Esther Duncan of Watertown, WI; stepson, Donald Tobias of Beloit, WI and stepdaughter, Dianne Millard of Waukesha, WI. Her husband, Donald, preceded her in death in 2004. They had reached their 45th wedding anniversary. They resided on Cherokee Ave., Madison, WI from 1966 until 2004. Upon the death of her husband, she moved to Birmingham, AL, residing with son, Gary and wife Virginia. A few of her last months were spent in Marshall, WI with her younger brother, Lee Merrick. Mr. Merrick passed away in August 2011. Her last place of residence was with son Gary, in his home in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

For many years, she displayed her art work in craft fairs and art shows around Madison and attended the fair held each year on Court House Square in Madison. She continued to create her wonderful oils and hand painted Christmas ornaments until the last few years of her life. "And so I am born and named after my grandmother Westgarth, and somehow welcomed into this world of rocks, snow, and ice...and into a family rich only in courage, constancy, cheerfulness, and love." Above quotation written by Eleanor Merrick Tobias, 1979, published in her book about her family history "Forward, Ever Forward".

Bryant-Grant Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences are available by visiting bryantgrantfuneralhome.com or by email.