Merritt Mcnamee

Merrit Caroline (Hardie) McNamee, 92, passed away on March 27, 2018, at Cherrywood Memory Care, McMinnnville, OR. Visitation is on Friday, April 6, 5:00-8:00PM, at Ott & Lee Funeral Home in Brandon. The funeral service will be Saturday, April 7, 2018, 11:00AM, at Ott & Lee Funeral Home, Brandon, MS, immediately followed by graveside service at Floral Hills Memory Gardens, Pearl, MS. Dr. John Dawson, Pastor of Brandon Presbyterian Church, will officiate the service.

Merrit was born on September 27, 1925 in Macksville, KS to the late Henry C. Hardie and Nira M. (Rodman) Hardie. She grew up during the dust bowl days in the middle of Kansas, was a member of Macksville Christian Church, and a 1943 graduate of Macksville High School. After graduating high school, she moved to California to stay with relatives. While living in Burbank, she attended a private dance hall for fun with her friends. One night at the dance, a sailor who was recently discharged from the Navy after the end of WWII, crashed the party along with his friends. The sailor asked her to dance that night. She later married that sailor, Carlos McNamee, on August 29, 1946. They moved to his hometown of Brandon, Mississippi, later that year. Merrit attended business school and started working for Mississippi State Tax Commission. She was very active in the Rankin county community as a 4-H and Cub Scout leader as well as many other community affairs. She lived in Rankin County for 69 years before moving to McMinnville, OR to be close to her daughter. Her hobbies were sewing, gardening and reading. She was a devoted wife, loving mother and grandma. She will be greatly missed.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Carlos McNamee, on May 26, 2015; 3 brothers, Lowell, David & Earl Hardie; 4 sisters, Ann Stimatze, Violet Thomas, Goldie Green & Carmen Hanson.

She is survived by 2 children: daughter Carla McNamee Frisbee (husband Dennis Frisbee) and son Bruce McNamee (wife Jeannie McCrory McNamee). She has 4 grandchildren: Dennis Frisbee, Leigh Frisbee Lenz, Joshua McNamee and Maygan McNamee Albert; plus 6 great-grandchildren: Tyler and Lauren Frisbee; Bradley and Brandon Lenz; Behr and Neve Albert.

The pallbearers are Dennis Frisbee II, Joshua McNamee, Brian Albert, Terry Arnold, David Powe, and Kris Knight. Honorary pallbearers are Dwain Kindard and Doug Grinnell.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Brandon Presbyterian Church, Pearl Presbyterian Church or a charity of your choice.