Vermont Law School mourns the passing of Keniston P. Merrill, who served as a VLS trustee from 1992-2002. Merrill died peacefully with his family at his side on Jan. 26 in Woodstock.
Merrill continued a long tradition of VLS trusteeship by officers of National Life that included L. Douglas Meredith, Richard Fricke and, more recently, Michele Gatto.
"Ken’s expertise in investment and financial management made him a natural for the Board Investment Committee, which he ably chaired for many years," said Scott Cameron, former chairman of the VLS Board of Trustees. "I remember Ken as a strong colleague who loved VLS and who was always ready and willing to provide guidance and leadership to the board and the dean. I was sorry to hear of Ken’s passing and offer my condolences to his family as well as my thanks for his service."
Merrill worked as a financial analyst for TIAA-CREF in New York City from 1957-1964. In 1965, he joined Five Arrows Fund as a financial analyst. Five Arrows later became New Court Securities, then Rothschild, Inc., where Merrill rose to managing director. In 1982, he moved to Vermont and joined National Life Insurance Company in Montpelier as chief investment officer, president and chief executive officer, and was a member of the board of National Life Investment Management Company. He retired in 1997.
In addition to Merrill’s 10 years of service to Vermont Law School, he served on several local and nonprofit boards, including Cardigan Mountain School, the Episcopal Archdiocese of Vermont, Central Vermont Hospital, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, now Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and the New England Culinary Institute Scholarship Fund.
He received a bachelor’s degree in English literature and economics in 1958 from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and a master’s degree in business administration in 1960 from New York University.
A memorial service for Keniston P. Merrill will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Randolph. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in his memory be made to Norris Cotton Cancer Center or the Memory Clinic for Alzheimer’s Research at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, N.H. 03756. An online guest book is available at www.dayfunerals.com and at www.legacy.com.