|
Former Pangburn mayor dies
Obit
By Rebecca Steffan
Monday, March 20, 2006 4:33 PM CST
The Daily
Citizen
John Mercer, former mayor of
Pangburn, passed away
Saturday, March 18. A memorial service will be held March 21 at Complete in
Christ Church at 2 p.m. at 3390 Highway 36 West. Mercer was an active and
influential member of the Pangburn and Searcy communities. He served in two
wars and lived a life of servitude, helping his community through his
mayoral position in Pangburn.
When he was 15 years old, Mercer, a life-long Pangburn
resident, used his older brother’s ID to sign up for military service.
Mercer achieved the rank of First Sergeant, serving in the Korean and
Vietnam wars.
He retired from active duty after 20 years in the U.S. Army and was awarded
the Bronze Star for service in 1968, the Army Commendation Medal for service
from 1962 to 1967, the Vietnam service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign
Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster to National Defense Service Medal, Good
Conduct Medal Clasp, Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Stars and the
United Nations Service Medal. Mercer was also a Rifle and Pistol expert.
Mercer was elected mayor of Pangburn in 1972 and held
office for seven years. During his time in office, he lobbied and
accomplished much for the betterment of Pangburn.
“He was a man who liked to see progress,” Mercer’s half-brother, Archie
Hagins, said.
He initiated the water and sewage grants for the county,
said his son John Mercer Jr., adding that he “pulled Pangburn out of the
dirt roads concept by getting them paved.”
Mercer supervised a $700,000 expansion program that modernized the entire
city’s sewer and water system. He also established the city’s Little League
baseball program and rebuilt the baseball field.
“He loved his neighborhood and the people in Pangburn,
and that’s the love of a man,” said Hagins.
Continuing to be active in his community, Mercer served as the Grand
Marshall of Pangburn’s Fourth of July parade in 2005. This, Mercer Jr. said,
was his last “public appearance.”
A 32nd degree member of the Masonic Lodge in Pangburn, Mercer often made
trips to Pangburn after moving to Searcy in 1999. Fellow Masonic Lodge
member, Richard Ramsey, said he and Mercer often visited one another.
“We both got cancer, and I would talk to him while he was in the hospital,”
said Ramsey. “He would stop by business and talk for a bit whenever he was
in town. “He was just an all-right kind of guy.”
Mercer ran unsuccessfully for White County Judge in the Democratic primary
in 1980.
In 2004, Mercer began prostate cancer treatments at the Anderson hospital in
Houston, Texas. After returning home, Mercer would often travel to Pangburn
and sit in the Pangburn Cafe to reminisce with friends.
“It was his way of saying good-bye,” Mercer Jr. said.
Mercer’s family said they want to encourage men to get check-ups to prevent
prostate cancer. They also request that all donations that would be made to
the family go to local cancer research facilities. |
