Merlin "Mert" William Frerking

Merlin “Mert” William Frerking, 84, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at Bryan West in Lincoln, NE. Visitation will be Monday, December 12, from 12-9 p.m. at Kinsley Mortuary in Marysville. The family will receive friends from 4-6 p.m. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, December 13 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 401 Arrowhead Road, 6 miles north and 2 miles east of Bremen. Reverend Aaron T. Fenker Sr. will officiate. Kathy Pralle will play the organ and the songs will be, “Sing with All the Saint’s in Glory”, “As with Gladness Men of Old”, “The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sings”. The pallbearers will be Bryant Frerking, Jay Frerking, Ryan Biery, Chad Stunkel, Doug Plegge and Scott Frerking. Burial will be in the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery. Merlin “Mert” William Frerking was born July 19, 1938 to William Otto and Martha (Mueller) Frerking. Growing up he was very active on the farm, in 4-H and FFA, played football and softball and was on the Livestock Judging team for 3 years. He graduated from Marysville High School in 1957. Merlin married Darlene Mae Stunkel on March 19, 1960. To this union, two sons were born, Kevin in 1961 and Randy in 1962. While the boys were growing up, he served as the adult Leader of the Happy Horseshoe 4-H Club for two years, the Dairy Leader for 16 years and coached and played softball – he especially enjoyed pitching for the late Dave Harris and the Parker Livestock team. Mert was raised by a Dairyman and followed in his footsteps. His first cow was purchased October 29, 1955 and he went on to register 277 head through the Holstein association. Sunflower Holsteins received several awards through the years for milk and butterfat production and sold cows that went overseas. Mert was active on the state board and organized numerous shows. He was one of the first in the area to breed via AI and traveled to AI other herds as a breeding tech and representative for Curtis Breeding Service based in Illinois. He expanded the cattle operation with Simmental and Chianina cattle, was at the forefront of the Simmental Association in this country being the 243rd member in the American Simmental Association and raised the 1978 National Champion Simmental Female FSR Miss Toni. Merlin was “called up” and cooked at Fort Riley in 1961 and 1962, spent a short time as a traveling salesman for Grandma’s Fruitcake and later was a conductor on the railroad until his retirement. Merlin had a very strong Christian faith and was a lifelong member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. He was active in the Men’s Club, committees and numerous church activities. Mert believed in giving back and was active on several boards through the years. He served on the Kansas Holstein Association Board, School Board, Federal Land Bank Board and REA Board. He was a member of the American Legion for 24 years, was a past Commander of the American Legion and served on the Honor Guard for several years, mostly as a bugler. After retirement he stayed busy on the farm, in his garden and in the community. He enjoyed sharing his garden bounty with family and friends and was particularly proud of his HUGE sweet potatoes. He loved watching K-State, Chiefs and Royals games and always made his kids, grandkids and great grandkids activities, school activities and games a priority. Mert and Darlene made numerous trips to Branson with friends Erwin, Dianne, Melvin, Lowine, Olivia and Don. Every Tuesday night you could find him calling Bingo at the Legion (and eat some of the delicious popcorn he made), on Thursdays you’d find him at the grill at the Sale Barn Cafe and on Sunday evenings he and Darlene enjoyed playing “Bremen Pinochle” with three other couples (and it’s said he was pretty darn competitive). Ever the farmer, the last few years you could still find him transporting Randy and Jay between farms, moving equipment and making parts runs. Mert was preceded in death by his father and mother, brothers Leonard and Arlan, and sister Inez. He is survived by his wife Darlene, sons Kevin (Rebecca) and Randy (Jean), his 3 grandchildren Bryant (Chelsea) Frerking, Kaitlin (Ryan) Biery and Jay (Lindsey) Frerking, his 6 great grandchildren Harley, Addi, Bennett, Elliott, Emersyn and Brooks and his sister Nila Miller. A memorial fund has been established and will be designated later. Contributions may be sent in care of Kinsley Mortuary. Committal of Mert Frerking with military honors To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Merlin "Mert" William Frerking, please visit our flower store.