Former Selectman Al Merritt Died Wednesday

Former Lynnfield Selectman Al Merritt died on Wednesday, March 20th, this website has learned.

Merritt stepped down from the board of selectmen at the beginning of 2013 to focus on his battle against cancer. .

In that interview, Merritt recalled how he had moved to Lynnfield in 1974 with his wife of 41 years, Beverly. They raised five children together with 11 grandchildren.

As a selectman, Merritt was first elected in 2008 and still had one year left on his second term when he left office. Merritt was a former finance committee member and chaired the town's school building committee in 2001 and its economic development and housing advisory committee in 2005. He was also chairman of Lynnfield's Republican Town Committee up until the beginning of this year.

Merritt was particularly proud of his work in getting the town's new schools built about a decade ago - and a framed replica of the $41 million check provided by the state for that project hangs in the selectman's room at town hall to this day. He also played a key role in helping the town resolve some of its affordable housing issues some years ago.

In the private sector, Merritt had a 30-plus year career in finance and management that included time as chief operating officer of Liberty Financial Companies.

During his interview in January, Merritt urged other civic-minded town residents to get involved with the town's various boards and organizations, noting that his own involvement had started largely because a couple of available projects just happened to be well suited to him. "I just see this as neighborly work," he said back then.

In honor of Merritt's service to the town, his colleagues on the Lynnfield Board of Selectmen, Bob MacKendrick and Dave Nelson, announced early this year that the future community space at the MarketStreet Lynnfield development would bear his name - The Al Merritt Media and Cultural Center.

"We're all in this together. We're all just neighbors in a sense," Merritt told local media back in January.

An obituary and service information will be posted on this website when they become available.