Merrill Paul Busch was born September 4, 1934 in Wallace, Idaho to Herbert and Rose (Hoerter) Busch. Merrill joined the U.S. Army June 10, 1953 and served as a paratrooper at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. He attended Wenatchee Junior College and then the University of Washington.
He married, Sarah McKnight and they had two children, Jim and Judy. Merrill was a Maintenance worker for the City of Portland for over 25 years. In 1991 he married, Delphine LeCouteur.
Merrill enjoyed dancing, rafting and hiking. He also worked tirelessly to find a solution to energy problems with Cold Fusion and was published in Cold Fusion Magazine.
He is survived by his wife, Delphine; son, Jim Busch; daughter, Judy Werner and husband, David; grandchildren, Brandon and Rachel Werner; brother, Bob Busch and wife, Sonia of Wenatchee; and sister, Laurel Sisson of Albuquerque. Merrill was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Orville, June, Ethel and Bernie.