Sarah Merritt, 70, of Griswold, IA, died early Saturday morning, September 22, 2012 at her home in Griswold.

Sarah Ann Christina was born on May 15, 1942 in Council Bluffs, IA, the daughter of Joe and Virginia (DeGeorge) Christina. She attended schools in Council Bluffs and Thomas Jefferson High School. On November 3, 1973, she married Merlin Merritt at Omaha, NE and since that time has made her home in Griswold. Over the years, she has worked at the American Legion, Griswold Care Center, the Red Oak Greenhouse; Casey's in Treynor and also for a time operated the Hog Wild Shop - a craft store in Griswold. She was very proud that she was a licensed floral designer. She was a member of Queen of Apostles Catholic Church in Council Bluffs.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Merlin on June 6, 2011, her sister Shirley Smith Stoner, her brother George Christina and 2 nieces.

Surviving are her sons and step children: David (Laurie) Doty of Joplin, MO; Jerry ( Betty) Doty of Griswold; Michael (Sallie) Merritt of Preston, MN; Vicki (Al) Peterson of Omaha, NE and Denise (Dan) Bladow of Battle Lake, MN. Sarah's 17 grandchildren are: Jennifer, Kyle (Emily), Zach, Nick (Sami) and Jesse Doty; Tom Smith; Zakery Dynek; Carissa, Brett and Hayley Merritt; Sean, Brian (Megan) and Kerri Williamson; Kayla Stewart; Kyle, Amanda and Marcus Bladow. Also surviving are 9 great grandchildren, her sisters Cathy (Kreg) Gallup of Council Bluffs and Rose (Grant) Kirchhoff of Council Bluffs and her brother Fred (Pat) Christina of Saginaw, MI as well as several nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Griswold at 11:00 AM. Burial will be in the Griswold Cemetery. Prayer service will be at the Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold Monday at 6:00 PM followed by visitation with the family until 8:00. A memorial fund has been established.