Merle E. Hemphill, 72, of Slippery Rock passed away unexpectedly at 8:20 p.m. Monday at Butler Memorial Hospital.

He was born Feb. 1, 1939, in Brady Township to the late Kenneth Solomon Hemphill and the late Mary Ellen Gallagher Hemphill.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army.

He had been employed for 28 years in the erection department of Pullman Standard.

He is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Dale (Penny) Anderson of Butler; two sons, Merle E. Hemphill Jr. and Timothy E. Hemphill, both of Slippery Rock; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. Also surviving is his sister, Mrs. Willis (Mary) Jeffries of Erie.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Anna Hemphill, who died May 6, 2005; one son, William Hemphill, who died Jan. 14, 1984; one daughter-in-law, Valerie Hemphill, who died Aug. 18, 2010; one grandchild; and one great-grandchild.

<B>HEMPHILL</B> — Friends of Merle E. Hemphill, who died Monday, Oct. 24, 2011, will be received at the <B>William F. Young Funeral Home</B>, 132 Main St., West Sunbury, from 11 a.m. until the time of services Thursday. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home with Pastor Matthew Perkins of the New Beginnings Free Methodist Church officiating. Burial will be in East Unity Cemetery.