He did his basic training at the training base at Grosse Ile. In 1941, a few years after graduating from high school, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and Bob joined the Navy in 1942. His talents won him a music scholarship to Wayne State University, but a broken eardrum ended his chances for a career in music. Bob played the trombone in the high school ROTC band and in the school jazz band.
With his earnings, he was able to buy a family car, a Model T Ford. All through his four years at Redford High School, Bob worked after school to help support his family. Being raised in a traditional catholic family, Bob understood these hardships and knew, as the only son, his responsibilities to help out. Life in the late 20's and early 30's was difficult for everyone as the Great Depression descended on the country. Robert was later joined by baby sister Patricia and the Merker family was complete. Already the parents of a daughter Jean, on August 30, 1920, in their home on Myrtle Street, they welcomed the birth of their only son, a bouncing baby boy they named Robert Lloyd. For Lloyd and Evelyn (Becker) Merker, life in Detroit was not about technology and women's rights - it was about raising a family. Women were delighted when Congress passed the 19th Amendment, giving them the right to vote. World War I was but a grim memory and Americans were enjoying some of the new technologies, like automobiles, radio and movies. Bob squeezed a lot of living out of life and was a great example to all who knew him.ġ920 saw the beginning of the era known as "The Roaring Twenties". He was multi-talented and could be found doing everything from playing his trombone or building a home to gliding across the dance floor with his wife in his arms.
Robert Lloyd Merker was a man with a great mind, an appetitive for life and an incredibly admirable work ethic.
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