Merrill Kerr Gee

by Loni Gee Hackworth (daughter)

 

Part Three

 

Merrill passed the Idaho State Bar Exam in December of 1943.  By now, he had also joined the Lion’s Club Quartet, which won many awards for their masterful singing. One of the many awards garnered was the Lions’ International Contest in Cleveland, Ohio in July of 1943.  The quartet from Pocatello won 4^th place in a competition with 10 teams, most of whom were professionals.

 

On April 8, 1944, their only daughter, Loni, was born.  She was brought home to a new residence they had purchased at 1246 North Arthur. 

During the year 1944-1945, Merrill was the president of the Community Concert Association.  He also attended social security conventions in Denver, Colorado, Amarillo, Texas, and Washington, DC.  1944 was quite a year for Merrill as he also opened his first law office in the Terrell Building in Pocatello, Idaho. 

 

In March of 1944, Merrill was asked to be the temporary Assistant United States Attorney to US District Attorney, John Carver.  This necessitated a move to Boise, Idaho.  Merrill and Dorothy sold the home on Arthur and moved to the capital city of Idaho, where he served in this job for two years.

 

Upon the return from the military by the person who officially had Merrill’s job, Merrill applied for a job with the Offices of Price Administration which would have allowed the family to stay in Boise.

 

Church leaders quickly asked Merrill to serve, and while living in Boise, he was called to be a Sunday School Chorister, Boise Stake MIA Presidency member, choir leader, teacher of Elders Quorum in the Boise 1^st Ward.

 

Just after serving as the Assistant district Attorney, Merrill volunteered to drive John Carver and his wife to a conference in Washington D.C. for state District Attorneys.  During this time in Washington D.C., Merrill heard a speaker talk about the need for lawyers to serve as special war crimes judges in both Japan and Germany.  If anyone was interested, they should go to the Pentagon for an interview.  Merrill - always the adventurer - applied for this position.

 

Merrill returned to Boise to work at his new job at the Offices of Price Administration until he received a telegram saying that he had received an appointment as attorney for war crimes group, US Allied Forces, in the European Theater with Dwight David Eisenhower as the General of the Army in charge.

 

Merrill sailed to Europe on the transport carrier, “General Taylor”, leaving port on October 10, 1946.  First, he was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, then on to Wiesbaden, Germany, where he picked out a house for his family. 

 

It had been a residence of affluent Germans and then was taken over by German officers and later by enlisted troops who had left it in a mess.  Dorothy left for Germany on a troop transport in February of 1947 with her two small children.  They arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany in March, 1947 where Merrill met the family.  It was very cold and Dorothy carried Loni with her face buried in Merrill’s chest. 

 

Kaey was taken to the hospital with fever.  He was crying as he was left alone in the German hospital the 1^st night.  The next day the nurses refused to let him go.  Merrill came and felt his forehead and said, “You’re not sick...where are your pants?” and they left the hospital and drove in an open jeep to the train station.

 

Merrill’s job was title investigator for war crimes branch of the war department.  He initially worked with field investigation teams to uncover

war crimes.  Merrill directed the field workers to follow up on leads of potential or actual war crimes.  Merrill was then transferred to the office of military government court where he became a judge.  This entailed listening to cases of violations of occupational law.

 

During the two years that the family lived in Germany, they traveled to Holland, Switzerland - just to get chocolate - England, Scotland, Czechoslavakia, Sweden, Austria, France, and Italy.  Merrill and Dorothy were not supposed to eat in any German cafes as the Germans needed the food.  Instead, they purchased their food at an American commissary.  They used occupation currency, but the Germans really wanted American cigarettes, so Dorothy traded cigarettes (which she bought at the American commissary) for some of the German valuable treasures such as Hummel figurines.  Dorothy even asked her father - the Stake Patriarch in Preston, Idaho - if he would buy her some cigarettes as the Germans would help them as long as the Idahoans supplied them with cigarettes.

 

Upon returning to the states, Merrill decided it was time to do what he had studied so hard for - practice law.  So he traveled to places he considered setting up a law practice.  He did not want to practice law in Boise where he had lived before going to Europe, so he looked at Nampa, Preston, Pocatello, Twin Falls, and Idaho Falls.  He chose Pocatello because that city had a good law library.  By this time, a third child - Gavin - had been added to the family, having been born on November 27, 1949.

 

And so it was, that in April of 1950, Merrill Kerr Gee and George Hargraves opened a law practice in Pocatello, Idaho which was to serve the general public.  While practicing law, Merrill belonged to the Pocatello Lions Club Quartet which consisted of Merrill Gee, Robert Thompson, Vinton Merrill, and Conway Grant.

 

Merrill served on the Pocatello School Board for over 11 years.  He was also elected to the National School Board.  During Merrill’s tenure on the school board, one of the issues that became a bitter battle was release-time seminary.  The case for allowing release-time took ten to twelves years to resolve.  One member of the school board actually was voted off the board over his desire to allow students to take Seminary during the day.  Many years after Merrill had left Pocatello, one of his grandsons met a long-time Pocatellan - Perry Swisher - who told Jordan Hackworth that Merrill Gee was largely responsible for getting release-time Seminary in the Pocatello school district.

 

He also belonged to a small investment group; and a study group which consisted of many good friends.  During these years in Pocatello, Merrill resumed flying lessons which he had started in 1936/37  in Maryland.

 

On Merrill’s 3^rd flight lesson when he had lived in Washington DC, the instructor had pulled the plane’s nose as high as it could go, and said, “Now recover.”  Merrill was so disoriented, he couldn’t do anything - and the instructor had to take over.  Merrill chastised him, “You didn’t warn me, etc.”  The instructor said, “You have to do this to get trained.”  This frightened Merrill so much that he temporarily gave up his dream of flying a plane.  During his second year at George Washington University, the Civilian Air Corps was offering to train civilians.  Although Merrill passed the flight regulations, he flunked the physical, just as he had done when he had tried to get in the army. 

 

It was not until he had moved to Pocatello during the seventies that Merrill tried flying again.  Once again, he passed the written exam, but not the physical. Merrill mentioned to a physician that he had had problems with physical exams all his life.  The physician said, “What do you do for recreation?”  Merrill replied, “Music.”  The doctor then said, “Go get your best album.  Play it; then come immediately after listening to that album.”  Merrill did what the doctor ordered and this time he passed his physical! 

 

And so - many years after his initial desire - Merrill began to fly, which he dearly loved .  Every day when Merrill would to through the office at the airport, he would pass the most beautiful plane in the world.  It was too slow for the owner, so he had quit flying it and had also quit making the payments.  Merrill found out the name of the owner; a farmer in Idaho Falls, so it hadn’t been used, even though the owner was paying hangar charges. 

            

The owner quoted the balance due on the initial payment, which he had paid down by 12-15 thousand dollars.  Merrill drew up a bill of sale and presented it to the man who was happy to be rid of it. 

 

Merrill was a well-known and much sought-after speaker and soloist.  One lady - on meeting his daughter years after Merrill had moved from Pocatello - said, “I always wanted Merrill Gee to sing at my funeral...but then, I wouldn’t have been alive to hear it!  But, oh, he has a voice!”

Merrill taught early morning Seminary and was on the High Council for the Pocatello Stake.  In 1965 a new stake was served formed at Idaho State University and Merrill was called to serve as a counselor to Robert Thompson in the new University Stake.

 

In October, 1970, while serving as a counselor to Robert Thompson in the Idaho State University Stake, Merrill was called to be the Stake President for the Pocatello Stake.

 

When Merrill was set apart by Elder Boyd K. Packer, he charged the new Stake President with the responsibility to see that the Pocatello Stake was to get out of debt.

 

Debts were owed on a church farm - which was also shared by five other stakes in the area.  A loan on the Pocatello Stake Center was also to be paid off.  This loan had been taken out to make additions to the Stake Center.  These additions included a new stage and athletic facilities which had not been part of the original plan. 

 

It is interesting to note that Merrill’s father, William Erastus Gee, - while serving as a bishop in Pocatello during the Depression - was also charged with the challenge of getting his ward out of debt.  So, like father / like son, both Gees - with the help of faithful Saints - were able to get their respective church organizations out of long-term debt.

 

In March, 1975, after 25 years, Merrill left his private law practice to return to work for the government as a social security judge.  He moved with his wife, Dorothy, to Downey, California.  After Downey, Merrill was transferred to Roanoke, Virginia, and then to Utah where they purchased a home.  An Historic Day Indeed as the loan on the Stake Center is burned - indicating that the faithful Saints of the Pocatello Stake had contributed enough money to pay off the loan...baked goods, musical shows, and other events made this possible.

 

Merrill and Dorothy served two missions - the first to the South Carolina mission, then to the Church College of Hawaii, where they served with Merrill’s two brothers (Ivin and Lynn) and their wives.

 

Merrill and his wife have traveled all over the world: Japan, China, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Holland, France, Austria, Czech, Italy, and many places in the United States.  Merrill Kerr Gee has led a remarkable and varied life. However, it is not the places Merrill has traveled, nor the jobs that Merrill has held, that make his life so remarkable and memorable, impressive though they are.

 

It is the lives of the people he has touched.  His life has always been one of love of family, commitment to Christ, and service in his church and community.  Wherever Merrill Kerr Gee has served, lived, or traveled, he has had a profound effect on  people’s lives.  His wife, children, and grandchildren pay tribute to and honor this noble, righteous gentleman of goodness and love.