Naelda Jane Merritt

Naelda Jane Merritt, 89, longtime resident of Tulare County, went home to be with her
Lord, Jesus Christ, on Tuesday September 7th, 2021. She was born at home to Ike and Aimee
Fifield on November 25, 1931 on her family’s farm in Brawley, CA.
In 1947, when she was 16 years old, Naelda was visiting a family friend in Tulare when
she was set up on a blind date with Richard Merritt, who turned out to be a former acquaintance
from Brawley where the Fifields and Merritts were family friends. She was married to him on
December 26 of that same year at a courthouse in Yuma, AZ and, soon after, relocated to the
Porterville area where the Merritt family had settled and established E.W. Merritt Farms.
Together, Richard and Naelda enjoyed 65 years of faithful marriage, raised five children, and worked together to manage and build the family farming operation.
Naelda was a kind and loving mother, committed to teaching her children the value of
hard work and the joy of a close-knit family. She loved to play outside and swim with her kids,
was nurturing and caring, and proved to be an especially proud great grandmother. She took
every opportunity to cuddle the babies and play with little ones. As her family grew, she began
to keep a record of the names and birthdates of all her great grandchildren, tallying up the count
of boys vs. girls and often showing her list off to people who came by. She was passionate
about cooking and loved collecting and browsing through cookbooks looking for new and
interesting recipes to make for her family. She enjoyed working in her vegetable garden and, in
later years, spent a great deal of time knitting. Naelda touched a countless number of young people with her faithful and generous support of the livestock projects of local 4-H and FFA members. She attended the Junior Livestock auction at the Porterville and Tulare County Fairs faithfully over the years, investing in the lives and education of young people interested in agriculture. Naelda was a member of the Tulare County Cotton Wives and, together, Richard and
Naelda were longtime members of the Poplar Methodist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband Richard Merritt, her parents, Ike and Aimee
Fifield, her sister Virginia Dotts and her brother Tom Fifield. She is survived by her brother Dick Fifield of La Paz, Mexico, her children, Earl and Gina Merritt, Eric and Tina Merritt, Mark and Aleta Merritt all of Porterville, Sarah and Don Reid, and Hatti and Frank Shepard of Springville. She is also survived by 16 grandchildren and 46 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, in honor of Naelda’s long-time appreciation for and commitment to
support 4-H and FFA livestock projects, please donate to a local 4h club/FFA chapter or directly
to the Porterville Fair Heritage Association. A service will be held in honor of Naelda’s life at
Myers Chapel on Monday, September 27th at 11:00 AM followed by a graveside service at
Hillcrest Memorial Park. To Sign the family guest book or send condolences please go to www.myersfuneral.com . Myers Service and Crematory in Porterville is in charge of arrangements.