Thomas Keith Merriman

Thomas Keith “Tommy” Merriman, 67, of Brunswick, Maryland, passed away at home surrounded by loved ones on Sunday, August 30, 2026.

Tommy was the son of the late Betty Lou and Donald Robert Merriman and a lifelong son of Brunswick in every sense of the word. He grew up on C Street, went to Brunswick schools, spent countless hours at the river, and grew up attending First Baptist Church of Brunswick. He knew these roads, the river, the towpath, and the people of this town, and they remained part of who he was throughout his life.

Tommy was a man of strong convictions. He was direct, independent and rarely uncertain about where he stood. Once Tommy believed something was right, he was not easily persuaded otherwise. That determination was one of his defining qualities. When he truly made up his mind to accomplish something, he saw it through. He valued honesty, hard work, personal responsibility and keeping your word, and those who knew him always knew exactly where they stood with him.

That determination was perhaps most evident in the changes Tommy made in his own life. He gave up cigarettes in 2018, and in April 2024 he made the decision to stop drinking. Once Tommy made up his mind, he did not look back. Sobriety became one of the great turning points of his life, but its greatest gift was not simply what Tommy left behind. It was what became possible afterward.

For much of his life, Tommy and his only son, Thomas Keith Merriman II, known as Axl, loved one another without always knowing how to reach one another. Axl carried a deep longing for a closer relationship with his father. In time, both men did the difficult work of changing their lives, including finding sobriety and deepening their faith, until father and son were finally able to meet one another in a place neither had been able to reach before. What had long been hoped for became something real: not only a relationship between father and son, but a friendship.

During Tommy’s final year, time with his dad became a priority for Axl. From the outside, much of it looked wonderfully ordinary. They got fishing licenses, watched Orioles games over ham-and-pineapple pizza, went to Wednesday night bingo at the Legion, watched movies, grabbed Burger King or Roy Rogers, and shared meals Axl cooked for his dad. But there was nothing ordinary about what those hours meant. After so many years of wanting more time and a closer relationship, they finally had both.

Tommy was immensely proud of the man his son had become and of Axl’s talent as a musician. On Father’s Day in 2025, he watched and recorded as Axl played guitar and sang “Calvary” for him at church. Every morning, without fail, Tommy texted his son good morning. And in later years, Tommy said the things Axl had spent much of his life longing to hear. He told his son plainly that he was proud of him. Whenever they parted, father and son hugged, with Tommy always making sure the last words Axl heard were, “I love you, son.”

Tommy loved the outdoors. He fished, camped, explored and, in recent years, could often be found putting mile after mile on his electric bike. The bike became freedom for him. He tracked his mileage and terrain, carried a second battery when he wanted to ride all the way to Shepherdstown for lunch and back, and discovered places inaccessible by car. Even after finally regaining his driver’s license and proudly acquiring his Mercury Grand Marquis, he never lost his love for exploring on two wheels.

About a mile down the towpath from the boat ramp stands an enormous old tree, its exposed roots spreading around a trunk roughly the width of a Volkswagen Beetle. It was one of Tommy’s special places. He went there when he wanted quiet, when he needed to think or pray, and, in true Tommy fashion, because it was also an excellent place to find hellgrammites for fishing bait. Only a few months before his death, Tommy brought Axl there and shared a place he had kept mostly for himself. Axl took photographs that day. Now he knows exactly where to go to find one of the places his father felt most at peace.

Tommy also loved simply getting in the car and going. With his girlfriend, Tammie Harris, the journey often mattered more than the destination. They drove country roads, listened to country and classic rock, talked, explored, stopped to eat and showed one another places that mattered to them. Tommy loved Tammie’s cooking, particularly a good roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes and lima beans. More than once, Tommy said that God had sent an angel into his life, and there was no question whom he meant. That angel was Tammie. To Tommy, she was not simply the woman beside him; she was a gift God had known he needed.

That belief became increasingly important to Tommy near the end of his life. Faith had been part of his childhood, but in the past year it became personal again. He and Tammie talked about Jesus, forgiveness and accepting Christ, and they prayed together. Tammie prayed before meals and before their trips, and if she forgot, Tommy reminded her. They talked about how anyone could look at the beauty of the natural world and not see God in it. Tommy began attending church with Axl and Casey more regularly, watching his son play and sing. Out on the towpath, beneath that enormous tree, he had already found a place of his own to be quiet and pray. In his final days, those conversations about forgiveness became something he lived, as Tommy chose to let go of long-held resentments and make room for peace in his heart.

Tommy worked with his hands for much of his life. He dedicated himself to becoming a skilled carpenter and continued working locally into his 60s. He built decks, installed siding and flooring, replaced windows, hung drywall and tackled roofs. He owned the tools to do just about anything and took care of them because he understood how hard a person had to work to acquire what he had.

That same philosophy governed the way Tommy treated his customers. He believed in doing quality work for a fair price. He wasn’t interested in taking advantage of someone simply because he could charge more. His work spoke for itself. Customers recommended him to others, and sometimes people were so pleased with what he had done that they paid him more than he had asked.

Tommy loved his Orioles and his Washington Redskins and had a love of baseball that went back to childhood, when he played Little League alongside his brother Donnie. Years later, he especially enjoyed watching Axl play Little League. Tommy was also something of a pool shark. He played in a pool league for many years and taught his sister Karen how to play, sharing many games with her over the years. He was a member of American Legion Post 96 in Brunswick, where Wednesday night bar bingo became a regular part of his week, as well as Brunswick F.O.E. Aerie 1136. He loved music, plants, fishing, a good meal, a long ride with nowhere particularly urgent to be, and people he could count on.

Tommy was someone people could count on. If he gave his word, it mattered. If someone genuinely needed him and he could help, he helped. He knew how to keep a confidence, respected hard work and took care of what he had because he understood what it took to earn it. His way of showing love was not always elaborate, but his love for his family ran deep.

Tammie remained beside Tommy through the hardest part of his life. As his illness progressed and he became increasingly dependent on others, she became his constant companion, advocate and caregiver. Tommy wanted her beside him, and she stayed. Near the end, when words were no longer available to him, Tammie knew him well enough to understand what he needed from the smallest movements and expressions. Her love allowed Tommy to remain at home, surrounded by the people and things familiar to him, through the end of his life.

Tommy is survived by his beloved son, Thomas Keith Merriman II (Axl), and daughter-in-law Casey Merriman; his girlfriend, Tammie Harris; his brother Donald Merriman and wife Debbie of Brunswick; sisters Karen Ivey and husband Dwane of Apollo Beach, Florida, Terry James of Brunswick, and Kathy Sears and husband Carl of Brunswick; brother-in-law Pat Payne of Lovettsville, Virginia; many nieces and nephews; lifelong friend Steve Wilson and wife Lori of Thurmont; and many other friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Betty Lou and Donald Robert Merriman; his brother Kenneth Merriman; and his sisters Penny McLane and Cynthia Payne.

In one of the final gifts his family was able to give him, arrangements were made for Tommy to be laid to rest directly beside his mother, Betty Lou. Before he died, Axl was able to tell his father that it had been secured.

He was going to be with his mom.

For a man who spent so much of his life exploring, riding, driving, fishing, working and finding out what was around the next bend, there is comfort in knowing where Tommy’s final journey leads: home, beside his mother, while the people who love him carry forward the places, stories, lessons and little pieces of everyday life that were uniquely his.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8 at Stauffer Funeral Home, Brunswick.