John Lawrence Merritt

John Lawrence Merritt was born at Emory Hospital and raised in Cumming, GA. He loved the outdoors, enjoying hunting, fishing and trapping. He was a member of Troop 39 of the Boy Scouts. Johnny, as he was most often called, attended Piedmont College and was President of Protropean Society, The Inter-Club and Canterbury Club.

He enlisted in the United States Air Force and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant. He served as a Skilled Weapons Controller at Custer Air Force Station in Battle Creek, MI. Later he was assigned to Da Nang AB, Viet Nam. He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Metal at the end of his service. Additionally, Johnny received the "Griffin" Award for outstanding Weapons Controller in 1968. He later attended Mercer University School of Law obtaining his Juris Doctorate and a Master in Business Administration from Georgia State University.

Johnny served in the Georgia Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve and received a second Air Force Commendation and the Meritorious Service Medal. Additional recognitions included Vietnam Service Medal and Senior Weapons Controller Award. He served 28 years in active duty and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Johnny practiced law with Lipscomb, Johnson, Merritt and Gualt and also as a civilian attorney in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at Robbins Air Force Base, GA. He later taught Economics at Georgia Military College, Macon College and State University. He was a certified Georgia Public School Teacher in the areas of History, English, Geography, Business Education and Economics. Johnny was active with the Republican Party and served as an alternate delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL.

He was a member of Church of the Holy Spirit, the State Bar of Georgia, the Bell-Forsyth Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Forsyth County Historical Society, the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club and the Atlanta Ski Club.


Funeral services will be Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 11:00am in the chapel of Ingram Funeral Home with Rev. Keith Oglesby and Rev. Gerald Blackburn officiating. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday from 6 to 8pm and Wednesday from 9am until time of the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Condolences may be made at www.ingramfuneralhome.com