Lawrence Merrill Sindt

L. Merrill Sindt was born in Woodbine, Iowa, on March 12, 1929, to Lawrence and Opal Fry Sindt, and died on August 25, 2014, at St. Joseph's Bluffs in Jefferson City, Missouri. He was a graduate of Cameron High School in Cameron, Missouri, and later graduated from Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa, and William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. In 2013, he was named a member of the William Jewell Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 1951 team. On August 24, 1950, he and Barbara Jean Ensign were married in Harrison, Arkansas. After a two-year stint with the U.S. Army- Psychological Warfare at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, he moved his family to Hillrose, Colorado, where he coached football, basketball, and baseball. The family returned to Missouri, where Merrill coached at Kearney High School, winning a state championship in basketball. He started the football program at Kearney. He thought that it was important that those young men have a good example to follow; therefore, he did not smoke, drink, or curse because he said he wouldn't do things he insisted they not do. He loved "his boys" and, even after all these years, maintained contact with many of them. He left coaching to take a position with the Missouri Department of Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, where he served for 29 years. He began his tenure at Voc Rehab as a counselor in Disability Determinations, and went on to serve as the Director of Rehabilitation at the St. Joseph State Hospital (Northwest Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center) in St. Joseph, Missouri. On his return to Jefferson City, he was the Director of Independent Living and was instrumental in starting the independent living movement in Missouri. He retired as the Director of Training and Rehabilitation Facilities. He served on the Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities from 1974 until his retirement, and was a lifetime member of the Missouri Rehabilitation Association and National Rehabilitation Association. While he enjoyed his employment with the state, it was never the satisfying vocation that he found in coaching. He enjoyed all sports, fishing, hunting, RVing, Fox News, and traveling to 49 states, Canada, and Mexico. He especially loved Colorado and Nova Scotia. Surviving him are his wife, Barbara, and his daughters, Teala Sipes (David), Tammy Wyble (Rich), Jan Sindt, and Beth Reinsch (Jeff), granddaughters Jordan Sipes Schaffer (Shawn), Paige Libbert, and Brooke Reinsch, and two great-granddaughters, Avery and Addeline Schaffer, as well as nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents, brother Doyle Sindt, sister Doris Sindt Sherman, and granddaughter Jennie Tanaya Sipes. A memorial service led by Rev. Anselm Williams will be held at Wesley United Methodist Church, where he was a member, on Saturday, September 6, 2014, at 2 p.m. with a time of visiting following the service. His body has been donated to the University of Missouri Department of Pathology and Anatomical Science. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Wesley United Methodist Church, 2727 Wesley St., Jefferson City, Missouri 65109; St. Joseph's Bluffs, 1306 West Main, Jefferson City, Missouri 65109; or Hospice Compassus, 600 Monroe St., Jefferson City, Missouri 65101. Dulle-Trimble Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Those wishing to email tributes or condolences to the family may do so at the www.dulletrimble.com website.