Merle L. Gunsalus, age 97, died Sunday, September 19, 2010, at the United Retirement Center in Brookings. Interment will take place at Hills of Rest Cemetery in Sioux Falls. No local services are planned.

Merle (LaMont) Gunsalus was born May 12, 1913, at Watertown, South Dakota, to Eugene A. and Mary E. (Sloan) LaMont. She graduated from Brookings High School in 1931 and from South Dakota State in 1935. She completed post-graduate study at Florida State University in Tallahassee and at SDSU. She was an assistant professor at SDSU and Family Life Specialist in extension.

Merle served on the state boards of the South Dakota Parent Teachers Association, the State Mental Health Board, and the South Dakota Home Economics Association. She served on the national council of Phi Upsilon Omicron and as a district councilor. She was a member of First Baptist Church , served on its boards, and was active in the American Baptist Womens Association. She was a member of Phi Upsilon Omicron, Pi Gamma Mu, Delta Kappa Gamma, Gamma Sigma Delta, Epsilon Sigma Phi, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, Brookings Area Retired Teachers Association, and the South Dakota Art Museum Guild. She was honored by the South Dakota Home Economics Association with the Senior Home Economist Award. She especially enjoyed Elderhostel here and abroad, reading, and gardening.

Survivors include four children: Glen (Pamela) Gunsalus of Graton, California, Ann (Tony) Miguel of Pasadena, California, Robert (Imke) Gunsalus of Los Angeles California, and Richard (Kimberly) Gunsalus of Los Gatos, California; a daughter-in-law, Elaine Gunsalus of Chicago, Illinois; and five grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a son, Gene.