Obituary of Joyanne Merriken

Joyanne Merriken, 78, of Wallingford, PA.

"Retired Nurse, Devoted Mother, Caring Friend"

Joyanne Merriken, R.N., 78, of Wallingford, died May 28 at Riddle Hospital. A devoted mother, aunt and friend, Joy was a retired nurse who enriched the lives of friends and family with her generosity, kindness and penchant for hosting wonderful parties and outings.

Her devotion to her son, Sam, overflowed into compassion and caring for all individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Joy was born on June 14, 1945, to Dewey and Jennie Robbins. She was raised in Havertown and graduated from Haverford High School. She earned her nursing degree in 1966 from Philadelphia General Hospital (PGH) Nursing School and worked in nursing for 45 years. She was the head nurse in the Cardiac Care Unit at Crozer-Chester Medical Center and later, she was the supervisor of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit at Riddle Hospital.

Joy married Stephen Merriken, a U.S. Army veteran who served  in Vietnam, on December 21, 1968 and they had one son, Samuel Merriken, who was born on Dec. 12, 1980.

Sam, a lovely individual with intellectual disabilities, was the light of Joy’s life. She worked tirelessly to ensure that Sam enjoyed a rich, active life with friends and family. Since Sam was a young boy, Joy was very involved in Delaware County Special Olympics, coaching roller skating, participating on the Delco SO board and serving as the former New Athlete Recruiter, bringing many athletes to the program. She was always a vocal cheerleader at Sam’s events including trips to Penn State to root for his basketball team in the statewide competition.

One of Joy’s pleasures was to travel to the shore at both Cape May and Avalon, N.J. Her family loved when Joy would take Sam, Joy’s mother and her nieces to the fishing docks in Cape May and tell stories about her grandfather who was a fisherman. The trips always ended with lunch at the Lobster House.

Joy loved shopping and was thrilled when home shopping networks like QVC made it possible for her to shop from home. She was extremely generous, always treating friends and family to wonderful gifts, never missing a birthday or special occasion. She also made sure to buy gifts for Sam’s roommates at his Devereux group home.

Joy enjoyed watching TV shows about animals and was a fan of “Jeopardy,” always calling her friend Pat to guess the final answer.

Joy is preceded in death by her husband and her parents.

She is survived by her son Sam, her sister, Nancy Robbins, her brother, Dewey S. (Ailean) Robbins Jr.; and five nieces, Julie (Jon) Flaser, Betsy Robbins-Mutch (Ian Mutch), Merrilee (Daniel) Davidson, Alison (Paul) Farrelly and Lesly Barnes.

She also had great nieces and nephews Finley and Dewey Flaser, Isla and Aidan Mutch, Dylan, Deacon and Merrilee Davidson, and Payton and Erleen Barnes.

Visitation: Thursday, June 6th after 10:00AM at the Minshall Shropshire-Bleyler Funeral Home, Middletown (Rte. #352) & Knowlton Rds., Middletown Twp., Media, PA 19063.

Funeral Service: Thursday, June 6th at 11:00AM at the funeral home.

Interment will be private at Glenwood Memorial Gardens.

Memorial contributions in Joy’s name can be made to Devereux by visiting www.devereux.org.