Merle W. Milligan

Merle W. Milligan

March 7, 1922 

November 30, 2013

Merle Milligan was a kind and gentle man. He was a man of many gifts – a keen intelligence, a quick sense of humor, a deep faith, and an abundance of love for his family and friends – yet he never drew attention to himself.

One of five children born to Bertha and Leslie Milligan of Des Moines, Iowa, Merle lived a life of service – to his church and community, to his country, to his students, to his wife of 65 years, to his three children and to his two granddaughters.

One of Merle’s first jobs was to deliver newspapers. He and his brothers put the proceeds in a cookie jar to help pay the family expenses. Drafted by the U.S. Army while in college, he was shipped to Europe as a mortar gunner in the 66th Army Division known as the Black Panthers. After World War II ended in Europe, Merle spent time in Scotland. Having studied engineering prior to the war, he was “enlisted” by his Colonel to teach calculus to other soldiers waiting to return home. Unknown to him at the time, this was the beginning of a long and successful career as a professor of mathematics.

Upon returning to the U.S., Merle entered Monmouth College in Illinois. Performing the male lead in a college musical, he met his future wife, Emily Louise Hoog, who played the opposite lead. They were married in 1948. After receiving a Danforth Fellowship and other academic awards, he earned his doctorate from Oklahoma State University. Merle taught at Adams State College, Albion College, and retired from Metropolitan State College after serving as the first dean of Arts and Sciences and as a math professor. He had high standards for his students, one of whom remembers him frequently saying, “This just won’t do,” in response to what the professor perceived as shortcomings in students’ work. In 1998, Merle was honored by a former student at Adams State College with the establishment of the Dr. Merle Milligan Outstanding Mathematics Student Award.

Merle enjoyed tinkering with automobiles and playing softball, basketball, and golf. An active and involved father, he attended the many plays, musicals, and concerts of his three children. He helped instill in them a love of the Colorado mountains with the many hiking and camping trips they took together. Merle sang in church choirs nearly his entire adult life, was a church elder, and enjoyed many social activities with friends. He and Lou experienced one of the high points of their life together touring Europe with the Wellshire choir and singing in several grand cathedrals. He was a devoted husband to Lou, father to Michael, Mary, and Mark, father-in-law to Nancy and Judy, and grandfather to Elizabeth and Emily. He was loved by all.

Merle was preceded in death by brothers Bruce, Floyd, and Dale, and by daughter Mary.