Parents of former Caltrans worker killed in accident waited
weeks for his marker
– now have a place to visit him
By rachelle gines Staff Writer
Gilroy – A dove cooed in a tree close to the mausoleum where Sean Merriman’s urn was interred Tuesday.
“Sean loved nature. This is where he was meant to be,” Jacqui Merriman said as she stood in the cool shade of the tree next to her husband Craig Merriman.
Sean’s parents are happy that friends and family finally have a place to visit their son, more than two months after he was killed in an April highway accident. Sean Merriman, a former Caltrans worker was pinned between two cars near Hellyer Avenue after a tow truck hit one of them, pushing one car into the other.
The Merrimans ordered Sean’s stone marker from Italy, and the order took eight weeks. Jacqui Merriman also said she was surprised but happy to find that her husband insisted their son’s picture be inlaid in the rock.
“The first time I saw it was yesterday when we placed him in his niche. It’s a nice picture,” Jacqui Merriman said.
Craig Merriman is satisfied that Sean is now at the cemetery.
“Sean had so many friends and people whose lives he touched, that we wanted a place for people to pay their respects to him,” he said.
Under Sean’s picture, the stone reads, “God’s Gracious Gift, Loving Son, Fiancee and Friend to All.” Silk flowers, an American flag and an Irish flag that Craig got for Sean adorn his memorial stone.
“He was, and we are really proud of our heritage,” Craig Merriman said of the family’s Irish roots.
Though the Merriman’s held an intimate brief memorial Thursday when Sean was interred, Craig Merriman said he along with Sean’s closest friends already wished him good-bye.
“We sprinkled (some of) his ashes over a waterfall at the end of a gorge that an average person could not get to. It’s really hard to find, and Sean was the one who found the gorge when we had already walked past it twice, said Craig Merriman of the location he, his son and their close friends used to go to in a location the family wishes to remain secret.
Coincidentally enough, six months prior to his death, Craig told Sean at the gorge, that when he died, he wished that his ashes were sprinkled there. Craig said Sean agreed.
“Me as a father, I said, well there’s no way Sean will be up there in that gorge first. But when the accident happened, and I spoke to his mom, we decided that’s just what we will do,” Craig Merriman said.
Jacqui Merriman said that Sean is interred next to two of his childhood friends, Paul Antonucci and Scott Kagy.
“He is surrounded by people who love him,” Jacqui Merriman said.
Craig and Jacqui Merriman did note that the date of Sean’s death on the stone is incorrect. The actual date of his death is April 4, 2006, but the stone incorrectly reads May 4, 2006.
“We as a family took a vote and decided it wasn’t important. Sean wouldn’t have cared, and it’s already been two months since his death anyway,” Jacqui Merriman said.
The Merriman’s stressed that they didn’t want to assign blame to anyone for the error on Sean’s stone.
“We wanted to let people know that it was not the fault of anyone at the Habings Funeral Home or at Gavilan Cemetery,” Jacqui Merriman said.
Most of all, the Merriman’s said they want to thank Sean’s friends and everyone who was with them during their difficult time.
“I feel deeply thankful knowing that he touched so many lives, more than me and my and my husband will ever know. I am grateful to the people of Gilroy, Caltrans … I don’t want to start naming people … everyone was wonderful,” Jacqui Merriman said.
Rachelle Gines is an intern currently attending San Francisco State University. Reach her at 847-7158 or
rg****@gi************.com
.
