Draft:\nIt is with sadness that I report that Ill. Merlin passed this morning to the Celestial Lodge. He was recently hospitalized with a stroke, but was always of a sound mind throughout his 95 years. Earlier this year, he lost his wife of 60 years, Irene. He is survived by a slew of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.\n\nMerlin was born on August 8, 1928. He was Worshipful Master of Harmony Lodge 18 in 1987, and was coroneted as an Inspector General Honorary in 1999. Ill. Merlin was a long-time President and Director of the Scottish Rite Scholarship Foundation of Washington.\n