A. John Merlo

A funeral service will be held for August John Merlo, 86, of Chico, on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 11 a.m. at Our Divine Savior Catholic Church. John passed away at home on Wednesday, January 14, 2008. He was born August 1, 1922 in Forest Hill, CA to Joseph and Clotilde Merlo. John was raised and attended schools in Sterling City and rode the bus to Chico each day to go to Chico High School. He went on to graduate from Chico State before entering the Army during WWII, where he served as a cryptographer, coding and decoding messages. After the war, John attended U.C. Berkeley and graduated from the top of his class at Hastings Law School. John practiced law in Chico for 55 years. In 1955 he married Elizabeth Henkle in San Francisco. John was the Chairman of the Democrat Party of Northern California from 1973 to 1974 and ran for Lieutenant Governor in the 1970's. He loved to read and study and was an inspiration to younger men that worked out with him at local gyms. His survivors include his daughter, Lisa Aeilts of Chico; son, John Michael Merlo of Oroville; two grandchildren, Jessica and John Michael Jr.; brothers, Peter Merlo of Chico, Frank Merlo of Sacramento and Harry Merlo of Portland. John was preceded in death by his brother, Amiel Merlo and sister, Caroline Anderson.