Dr. Max Mertz

Obituaries

June 28, 2011 - 12:00 AM

Dr. Max Albert Mertz, 91,died  Thursday, June 23, 2011, at his home in Winston-Salem, N.C., after a 10-year battle with prostate cancer. He was the brother-in-law of Ed and Betty Miller of Iola.
He was born on June 28, 1920, in Lincoln, Neb., the third of five children of Karl Albert Otto and Margaret Neal Mertz. An avid and lifelong pilot he began flying with the Army Air Corps during World War II. He had a bachelor’s degree with a triple major in anthropology, sociology and military science at the University of Nebraska. His graduate degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels were in clinical psychology and foundations of education, with a focus on gifted children. His schools include the University of Chicago, New York University, Vassar Institute for Child Development and University of Houston. He was a lifelong Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, with membership in River Oaks Rotary Club, Houston, Texas, and Taos Rotary Club, N.M. Through his Rotary service he was involved with the scholarship program of World Campus Afloat, Chapman College, Orange, Calif. He was also instrumental in establishing the St. John’s School in Houston with the Rev. Thomas W. Sumners. Max and his wife, Nancy, were key founders of the festival Music from Angel Fire in New Mexico.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Nancy Alma Miller Mertz; his son, Max Edward Mertz, his wife, Valerie Barton, and grandchildren, Haley Margaret and Sarah Barton, Juneau, Alaska; his daughters, Margaret Stover Mertz, Winston-Salem and Patricia Parker Mertz Moayedi, her husband, Alex, grandson, Chris, his wife, Kim, and great-grandchildren, Madeline, Tess and El, Baltimore, Md., granddaughter, Jennie Moayedi McCabe, her husband, Jonathan, and great-granddaughter, Koralie, Dripping Springs, Texas; a son, Aaron Wright Mertz, his wife, Sharon, grandson, Grant, and his wife, Esther, granddaughter, Valerie, her partner, Brandon, and great-grandchildren, Mia and Grayson, all of Lafayette, La.; his nephew, David Flory, his wife, Lauren, and their children, Krystal and Kameron, Houston, Texas; along with other nieces and nephews, children and close friends, including Gregg Waddill and Sharron Swann, Austin, Texas.
Services were officiated by the Rev. Lawrence Womack at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, 2690 Fairlawn Drive, Winston Salem on Sunday. A private family burial will take place in New Mexico in the fall.
Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home in Rural Hall is serving the Mertz family. Online condolences may be made at www.hayworth-miller.com
Memorials may be sent to Hospice & Palliative Care Center, Attn: Finance Department, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103 or to St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 11437, Winston-Salem, NC 27116.

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