On January 11th, 2025, our heavenly father welcomed Merline Willard Van Dyke to be united with him and Gloria into the Kingdom of Heaven at 90 years of age, from Lakewood, Colorado since 1969. He devoted his life to Jesus and his faith never wavered. Merline was first born on March 29th, 1934 to Willard and Neva Van Dyke in Keene, North Dakota.
Merline is preceded in death by his parents, Wife - Gloria (Thompson), Sons Jesse, Michael and Timothy along with brothers Ned and Laurel Van Dyke.
He is survived by his youngest son, Gregory, siblings Garvin, Dale, Ivan, Verna Delp and his grandchildren, Shayanna, Justin, Skyler, Zach, Aubrey, Taybor, Austin, Baylee and Megan along with five great grandchildren, Jaxon, Colt, Claire, Zoey and Marlowe. He is also survived by countless cousins and relatives.
Merline met Gloria, who resided close by in the small town of Charleson, North Dakota. They married on October 29th,1953, and shortly after began creating a new beautiful family. Merline and Gloria moved various places early on in their marriage while looking for the best place to establish their own roots. In 1954, in Corpus Christi, TX, where Merline was stationed in the Navy. Their first son, Jesse, was born. From Corpus Christi they moved to Fargo, North Dakota where Michael was born in 1957. On the next of their many adventures, they moved to Oregon for Merline’s job designing roads through the forests of John Day mountains. It was here that Timothy was born in 1963, followed by Gregory in 1965. They then decided to head back home to North Dakota until making their final move in 1968 to Colorado. They purchased a home in Lakewood, CO in 1969 and planted their roots for their newly growing family. It was here that the Van Dyke family would flourish underneath two beautiful parents.
Merline was a Professional Engineer (PE) and a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) certified in North Dakota, Oregon and Colorado. His GI bill from the Navy is what put him through college.
During his time in the Navy, his passion and knowledge for airplanes grew. He built a piper cub which is still working in Alaska as a bush plane with pontoon gear. He also built a Zenair aluminum plane from scratch that can land or take off in 100 feet. As an A&P inspector he did many annual inspections.
In October of 2024 Merline and Gloria would have celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary, leaving a foundation of love and grace for all that knew them.