Merrill Roe Drollinger

1914 - 1999  (85 years)

• Name	Merrill Roe Drollinger
  Birth	24 Feb 1914	Ashton, Fremont, ID
  	Idaho, Birth Index Name: Merrill Roe Drollinger Birth Date: 24 Feb 1914 Birth Place: Ashton, Fremont, Idaho, USA Father: Stephen Franklin Drollinger Mother: Geneva E. Gee Certificate Year: 1914 Certificate Number: D63-0074
  Gender	Male
  Death	5 Jun 1999	Phoenix, Maricopa, AZ
  	Died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, AZ Social Security Death Index Name: Merrill R. Drollinger SSN: 520-07-7997 Last Residence: 86329 Humboldt, Yavapai, Arizona, United States of America Born: 24 Feb 1914 Died: 5 Jun 1999 State (Year) SSN issued: Wyoming (Before 1951) U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File Name: Merrill Drollinger Birth Date: 24 Feb 1914 Death Date: 5 Jun 1999 Cause of Death: Natural SSN: 520077997 Branch 1: NAVY Enlistment Date 1: 28 Oct 1943 Release Date 1: 14 Nov 1945
  Burial	Dewey, Yavapai, AZ
  Person ID	I13037	Drollinger Genealogy
  Last Modified	11 Apr 2022

  
  

  Father	Stephen Franklin Drollinger,   b. 25 Nov 1893, St Anthony, Fremont, ID d. 1 Jul 1961, Mesa, Maricopa, AZ (Age 67 years)
  Mother	Geneva Elenor Gee,   b. 1 Feb 1897, Ora, Fremont, ID d. 29 Dec 1982, Humboldt, Yavapai, AZ (Age 85 years)
  Family ID	F1971	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Gladys Genevieve Anderson,   b. 29 Sep 1919, Casper, Natrona, WY d. 8 Oct 1990, Aurora, Arapahoe, CO (Age 71 years)
  Marriage	30 Mar 1938	Casper, Natrona, WY
  Divorce	Divorced
  Children	1. Merrill Richard "Tex" "Dick" Drollinger,   b. 21 Sep 1938, Casper, Natrona, WY d. 16 Oct 2013, Kimball Township, St. Clair, MI (Age 75 years)   2. David Roe "Dave" Drollinger + 3. Arla Genevieve Drollinger,   b. 18 Nov 1941, Chester, Fremont, ID d. 10 Jul 2010, Silver City, Grant, NM (Age 68 years)
  Family ID	F4215	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	13 Feb 2017

  
  

  Family 2	Martha Edna Lee Higgins,   b. 4 Jul 1917, Ross, Converse, WY d. 11 Jun 2002, Humboldt, Yavapai, AZ (Age 84 years)
  Marriage	10 Apr 1949	Casper, Natrona, WY
  Children	+ 1. Danny Franklin "Dan" Drollinger   2. Paul Frederick Drollinger + 3. Eugene Phillip "Gene" Drollinger
  Family ID	F4202	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	13 Feb 2017

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 24 Feb 1914 - Ashton, Fremont, ID Marriage - 30 Mar 1938 - Casper, Natrona, WY Marriage - 10 Apr 1949 - Casper, Natrona, WY Death - 5 Jun 1999 - Phoenix, Maricopa, AZ  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show
  		Merrill Richard (L) and Merrill Roe Drollinger
  		Merrill Roe Drollinger Facebook post by Paul F. Drollinger 24 Feb 2020 (Merrill's 106th birthday)
  		(L-R back row) Arla, Martha, Merrill, Merrill Richard (L-R front row) Paul, Dan, David. ca 1958 Photo courtesy of Paul F. Drollinger
  		L-R back "row": Danny, David, Merrill Richard holding Kerri and wife, Dorothy L-R front "row": Paul, Mark, Gene, Merrill Roe holding Dennis and Kim Facebook post by Kim 11 Nov 2020
  		After many years, I had the pleasure this morning to drive this old “Big Blue Cummins” to the store. It wasn’t just any drive though, ’cause this is Michelle’s dream truck, we bought it new in ‘99 and drove it for many miles and to a gaggle of notable events. It’s hauled jeeps and camp trailers to our favorite places ... boats to the lake, and kids to school, it brought FFA steers to the back yard, and stones to the front yard ... then it became my son’s dream ride and hauled him around his college town, and back home where it hauled grandkids home from the hospital, and 4 wheelers to the dunes. Perhaps the haul that popped foremost into my mind was the one from our summer fishing vacation, with some of the folks we love the most ... which was interrupted with the knowledge of my father’s passing ... hours of driving time from where we were, we headed out. From highway to freeway to highway again we listened to the Cummins hum, in perfect accompaniment to the singers on the CDs ... almost every song had new meaning, but the words that struck the biggest chord were ... 🎶 There’s a thin line ... between dreams and memories 🎶 ... it’s not a song about trucks, or dads, but those simple words hit me like a ton o’ bricks as my mind daydreamed back to the times I was blessed to have shared with him. To many, this is just an old blue truck ... but to me it’s a beautiful reminder that there’s “ a thin line between an old blue Cummins truck .. and a vehicle to the cherished past 💙” Enjoy your dreams, and love your memories ... many times it’s all we have left ❤️ See Less (Paul Frederick Drollinger)
  		Standing (L-R) William "Bill" Fulton (Emma Geneva's husband); Gerald Stephen Drollinger; Alcedine (Gerald’s 2nd wife); Deward Franklin Drollinger; Merrill Roe Drollinger; Martha (Merrill's wife) Seated (L-R) Emma Geneva Drollinger-Fulton; Geneva Eleanor Gee-Drollinger; "Winnie" (Deward’s wife). Photo courtesy Paul Frederick Drollinger 28 Dec 2021
  		Paul Drollinger: "O-Hell , I mean Hello" he would ofttimes say as he greeted folks, his smile beaming as he carried out the purpose of the visit. Today marks 108 years since he was born in St Anthony Id.and I'd " betcha a nickel to a donut" that if he were still here, nothing would have changed. Happy Birthday in Heaven "Paps" and thanks for letting me watch you live. Facebook post by his son, Paul F. Drollinger 24 Feb 2022
  		Photo courtesy Paul Frederick Drollinger

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		WWII DRC
  		WWII DRC
  		WWII DRC

  
  

  Headstones

  Heritage Memorial Park Dewey, Yavapai, AZ

  
  

• Notes

  About Merrill Roe Drollinger Merrill went to school with his second wife, Martha Higgins, in a one-room schoolhouse out in the sand hills of eastern Wyoming. At the time both were the children of homesteaders, and both had siblings in school with them. Merrill's last year of school was the eighth grade and I do not know if he completed that year. He began his working life even before that, but that began his full-time work. He is known to have worked on farms and ranches as a hand, and told me of being snowed in for a winter on a ranch in Montana. Merrill wanted to be a farmer and loved to watch things grow, but at wist of fate changed the course of his life. Just days before his 21st birthday, when he was eligible to homestead land, Wyoming repealed their homestead act, as he put it, and he was forced to pursue other work. I personally know nothing of his employment from that time until shortly before WWII. At that time he started work at Casper Air Force Base in Casper, Wyoming. Casper AFB may have been an Army Air Corps Camp at that time, but Dad never mentioned that. He was a firefighter then and his whole crew traded back and forth from Crash to Structural on a routine basis. Dad told me that it seemed all the bad crashes took place when he was on structure, and vice versa, so he did not see many actual fires, just endless training. While at the AFB Merrill was drafted into the US Navy and sent to the Pacific Theatre as a Stevedore in the Sea Bees. He mentioned Pearl Harbor, after the attack of course, Okinawa and Tinnian but I can not be sure all of the places he may have been. Who knows now if he was sure. He remained in the Navy until the end of WWII and returned to his job at Casper AFB, until it closed in the late 1940's. [end] www.geni.com Merrill Roe Drollinger obituary published 7 Jun 1999 Merrill Roe Drollinger, 85, died Saturday, June 5, 1999, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. He was born Feb. 24, 1914 in Aston, Idaho, to Stephen F. and Geneva Eleanor (Gee) Drollinger. Mr. Drollinger moved to Humboldt 28 years ago, from Blackfoot, Idaho. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving during World War II in the Pacific Theater. He worked as a firefighter for many years at the Atomic Energy Commission in Idaho Falls. He was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Prescott Valley. He was active in his church and the Boy Scouts. His family said he was a borderline famous gardener. He also enjoyed woodworking and loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. His love of children went beyond his family. He enjoyed the outdoors and camping. Survivors include his wife, Martha of Humboldt daughter, Arla Tolman, also of Humboldt; sons, Merrill of Mount Clements, Mont (note: obit should have said, 'Mount Clemens, MI),; David Howe of (note: obit should have said, 'David of Howe, ID) Idaho, Danny of Tucson, Paul of Logandale, Nev., and Eugene of Dewey; brother, Deward of Sinclair, Wyo.; sister, Geneva Burton of Ogden, Utah; 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from 9 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 3950 N. Valorie Drive in Prescott Valley. Funeral services will follow at 10:30 a.m. Hampton Funeral Home helped the family with arrangements. Copied from http://prescottaz.com/pdc/obits699.htm on Feb 2001 U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men Name: Merrill Roe Drollinger Race: White Age: 26 Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head) Birth Date: 24 Feb 1914 Birth Place: Ashton, Idaho, USA Residence Place: Ashton, Beaufort, Idaho, USA Registration Date: 16 Oct 1940 Registration Place: Ashton, Idaho, USA Employer: Hardin Clark Height: 5 6 Weight: 132 Complexion: Other Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue Next of Kin: Franklin Stephan Drollinger Household Members Age Relationship Merrill Roe Drollinger 26 Self (Head) Franklin Stephan Drollinger Father