LTC. Lawrence C. Merkl, US Air Force, (Ret) of Bern Township, PA, passed away April 1 at Reading Hospital, W. Reading, PA.
Lawrence was born in Richmond, VA, on May 31, 1949, a son of the late Mary (Crane) and Earle Merkl. Larry grew up as an "Army brat" living in various locations around the world, including Greece where he started 1st grade and later Korea, before his parents settled in the area of Andrews AFB, Maryland in June 1961. He graduated from the Saint Johns College High School.
Larry is survived by his wife of 16 years, Cynthia E. Burkert, formerly of Oley. He chose Greenfields for his retirement home in 2009.
Lawrence graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1971, ranked 12th in a class of 729 graduates. He went on to earn a Masters degree in Management from MIT. Larry completed Army Ranger training and the Engineer Officer's Advanced Course before being assigned to the DC area. He left the Army in 1979 at the rank of Captain. After a 10 year break in service and private-sector experience in real estate and construction, Larry was offered a commission in the Maryland Air National Guard, where he served for fifteen years, before transferring to the USAF Reserves until his retirement in 2009.
In April of 2002, Larry and the 235th Civil Engineer Flight - part of the 175th Wing of the Maryland Air National Guard - deployed to the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, to construct an air operations center for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Larry commanded the third team and completed the facility, which later controlled all combat aircraft over Iraq.
As a USAF Reservist, Civil Engineer with the Office of Special Investigations at Andrews AFB, Larry dealt with facilities issues commandwide. On his final project, Larry was the Lead Engineer on the construction of the Russell-Knox building – a brand new 750,000 square foot facility on Marine Corps Base Quantico – where five sovereign federal investigative agencies relocated. The new building houses the Headquarters for the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, the Army Criminal Investigations Directorate, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Defense Security & Counterintelligence Agency, relocating over 3000 Federal Employees. The team – on which Larry played a significant role - completed the project ahead of schedule and under budget in less than five years.
In addition to his wife, Cindy, Larry is survived by five children, Jessica, Adam, and
Lauren, all of the Seattle, Washington area; Kelly of NYC, and Kristen of Charlotte, NC
and a stepson, Burke Wadsworth of Houston, TX, and five grandchildren. Ivy, Jonah, Everett, Simon and Elliott.
Lawrence is also survived by two brothers, Douglas Merkl, of Chester, MD; Robert Merkl, of Toano, VA.
Memorial contributions may be made in Larry's name to Diamonds in the Ruff Pound Pups at https://www.tndiamonds-in-the-ruff.org to honor Larry’s love of his rescued dog family and especially his constant companions Wiggy and April.
Interment private at convenience of the family Arlington National Cemetery, DC.
Arrangements entrusted to John P. Feeney Funeral Home, Inc. 625 N. 4th Street at Centre Ave., Reading, PA 19601, 610-372-4160. Obituary and condolences at www.johnpfeeney.com.
