Connie Merrill

Connie Jean Merrill, 85, formerly of State Center, Iowa, passed away on June 18, 2026 in Aurora, Illinois. She had the support of family by her side as her long battle with Parkinson's Disease came to an end.

Connie was born on March 12, 1941 in State Center, Iowa at Woods Hospital on Main Street. Her proud parents were Merle Vernon Nolta and Helen Marie (nee Eckhart) Nolta. She grew up a happy farm girl in Marshall County until the family moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa during her senior year of high school, prior to her graduation there in 1958.

But she didn’t stay away from Marshall County for long. On June 15, 1958 she was united in marriage to Derald Dean Merrill at First Presbyterian Church in State Center. Connie and Derald purchased a new house on 4th Street NE in State Center in 1963. They remained in that house for the next 60 years and from there raised four children.

In 1970, once the kids were all in school, Connie accepted a position at Donnelly Marketing in Nevada, Iowa, where she worked her entire career as an Executive Assistant. During that time the family purchased a waterfront home at Lake of the Ozarks with four other State Center families where many years of skiing, boating, and swimming were enjoyed.

After retiring, Connie and Derald continued their love of boating, taking many friends on their pontoon boat at lakes Pipen, Rathbun and Red Rock. They played lots of golf and spent winters in Panama City Beach, Florida, where Connie enjoyed the company of many lifelong friends who also wintered there, as well as many new Florida friends.

Connie and her friends loved social activities and often got together for lunches, golf, trips to the casino, and bingo. She also enjoyed reading and would spend many hours playing her all-time favorite game, Canasta, with local ladies.

Connie was very close to her grandchildren and spent as much time with them as possible. She loved baking lots of goodies for them, taking them on outings, and spent countless hours playing cards with them for quarters.

Connie was preceded in death by her husband Derald, her parents Merle and Helen Nolta, her brother Richard Nolta, her sisters-in-law Ann Nolta, Donna Loney, and Becky Merrill, her nephew Craig Steffen, and her grandparents Gerald and Ildra (nee Weave) Nolta and William and Lucrieta (nee Riemenschneider) Eckhart.

Connie is survived by her children Jeff (Steve D’Onofrio) Merrill of Palm Springs, CA, Jodi Merrill of Thornton, CO, Julie (Joe) Warda of Aurora, IL and Jill (Gary Davis) Merrill of Las Vegas, NV. She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren Sydney Warda, Taylor Brandt, Eden Warda, Bjorn Magnus, and Edward Warda, her great granddaughter Louisa Fabrizio, her brother-in-law Darwin Merrill, sister-in-law Bernie Nolta, and nieces and nephews David Loney, Patrick Loney, Angela Hunt, Suzanne Eckart, and David Nolta.

A celebration of life will be held at Mitchell Family Funeral Home, 104 West Main Street in State Center, on August 29 from 4 to 7PM. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to State Center Development Association, PO Box 156, State Center, IA 50247. This organization is dedicated to the betterment of Connie’s birthplace and the town she enjoyed living in for nearly all of her adult life.