Submitted by: John C. Monk

Thomas W. Merriman

March 20, 1924 - Nov. 11, 2009
SOUTH BEND - Thomas Wayne Merriman, 85, died Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Merriman was born March 20, 1924, in Chicago, IL. As a senior at Riley High School, South Bend, he directed his school's band which also performed his compositions. He served in the Untied States Army, stationed at Camp Lee, Virginia, where he directed a U.S. Army base band. He graduated from Indiana University in 1949, majoring in music composition with a minor in voice. He subsequently attended the Julliard School as a postgraduate student. While in New York, Merriman wrote for numerous big band musicians including Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. In 1952 he began his career in commercial music, taking a position with Liberty Broadcasting in Dallas, TX, where he helped pioneer the use of musical jingles for radio. In 1965 he co-founded T M Productions, a company that grew into a preeminent position in the industry. Tom was preceded in death by his father, Floyd; his mother, Martha; and by his brother, John Merriman. He is survived by his wife, Jackie, and stepdaughters, Kathryn Howry and husband, Mike, and Karen Vaughan and husband, CJ, and former wife, Joan Merriman, mother of son, John Merriman, and wife, Ellen, and daughter, Catherine Challacombe, and husband, Larry.

Published in South Bend Tribune on December 22, 2009