Merle Everett Southern

Merle Everett Southern passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 29, 2026 surrounded by his family. He was born on October 27, 1937 in Carthage, Missouri to Winford Paul Southern and Paulette Elaine Bayless Southern. He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers: Gene, Randall and Larry, and his wife Judy Earp Southern. He is survived by his wife Carol, his son Eric "Scott" Southern (Julie) of Rolla, his daughter Stacey Southern Kroll (Andrew) of Jupiter, Florida, and his son Christopher Southern of Columbia, Missouri. Also, his brother George Southern and his wife Barabara of Mountain Grove, Missouri, five grandchildren: Eric Scott Southern II (Stephanie), Nicole Southern, Alex Southern, Aiden Cook and Jakob Kroll, and three great grandsons: Eric Scott Southern III, Joshua Southern and Eli Bramblett, as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins whom he dearly loved.

Merle attended Carthage High School and after graduation in 1956 went on to attend the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in Rolla (Missouri S&T) where he obtained a degree in Civil Engineering, graduating in 1961. He was the first person to enter the program to become a Civil Engineer with the U.S. Geological Survey in Rolla. He did rotations through all the various aspects of the program, including spending time in the field. He completed the program and in 1965 was sent to Reston, Virginia where he remained for 10 years. During that time, he did a tour of duty at the South Pole and had the honor of having a mountain named after him- Mount Southern. In 1976 he returned to Rolla to serve as Assistant Center Chief. In 1984 he accepted the position of Center Chief for the Rocky Mountain Center in Denver. In 1991 he returned to Rolla as Center Chief for the then called Midcontinent Mapping Center. During this time he made several trips to China in regards to their mapping program. He retired in January 1995 and, with his wife Judy, spent the winters in Florida and summers in Missouri. Judy passed away in 2011 and in 2013 he got remarried to Carol Willeford Southern.

Merle received many awards during his career with the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1987 the University of Missouri awarded him the honor of Professional Civil Engineer. In 1989 he was awarded the Department of the Interior Distinguished Service Award signed by the secretary of the Interior, and in 1989 the Rank of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service signed by former President Bush.

Merle's first love was baseball. He loved the St. Louis Cardinals from the time he was 12 years old and the YMCA took a group of youngsters to a game at old Sportsman's Park where he got an autograph from "Stan the Man" Musial. He never lost his love for the game and followed the team through good years and bad still hoping at some point to be called up to pitch even though he was a catcher. He coached many young baseball teams through the years and spent many years maintaining the fields at Lions Club Park for the local teams. His other love was golf. He never missed a chance to attend the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational and followed it on TV when he couldn't attend. He was very dedicated to the Rolla Lions Club for over 30 years and participated in many Club activities, including working the bingo booth at the annual carnival. He received the  Melvin Jones Fellowship Award from the Lions Club International Foundation and several other awards from the local Lions Club through the years.

Merle will not be remembered for all of his achievements in his life, but more for the kind, loving, thoughtful person that he was. There will be a Celebration of Life for Merle at the Rolla Lions Club on May 25 from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Rolla Lions Club would  be appreciated.