U.S. Forest Service worker retires at 91

Mary Merrill has three passions in life: the United States Forest Service, Weber State University basketball and the Utah Jazz. After Tuesday, the 91-year-old Roy resident will have a lot more time to watch basketball because she retired from the Forest Service office in Ogden after working there 31 years. "It's sad," Merrill said during her retirement party Tuesday at the Federal Building. "I'll miss everyone here. I love my job." Merrill worked as an office clerk for the Forest Service, doing manual jobs that required penmanship, archiving maps and photos, and other clerical tasks. Merrill said one of her favorite parts of her job over the years was writing on the backs of photos and archiving them for the Forest Service. Supervisor Sean Harwood said it was sometimes difficult working with Merrill, only because they would run out of things for her to do. "I'd give her a project that would take a week, and she'd have it done in two days," he said. "Our toughest job is keeping her working."...more