Remembering Marseen Merchant

There are so many precious memories of Marseen that we really aren’t sure where to begin.  Three days before Christmas in ‘43 Philip Merchant, Sr. and Pearline Merchant received one of their best Christmas gifts ever.  On that Wednesday, December 22nd they were excited to welcome their new baby boy into the world.  What a gift… Marseen was born on that day in Hawkinsville, Texas!

Marseen grew up in Bay City, Texas.  He learned great work ethics as a young man.  He knew what it was like to pick cotton with his family as well as what it was like work in the rice fields with his siblings and father.  He enjoyed his family and was close to them all.  He and his brother Philp had been together since they could recognize each other.  Only eleven months apart, they were best friends and completely trusted each other.  Academically, Marseen excelled in science and math.  He routinely earned excellent grades throughout primary and secondary school.  With great honors he proudly graduated at the top of his class from Hilliard High School with the Class of  1962.  Upon graduation Marseen matriculated to Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas where he continued to excel in the areas of science and math.  In just three short years, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry.  This leveraged Marseen for a bright future; opening doors for him to land a position with Celanese as the first black chemist to work at the Bay City, Texas facility.  Marseen also worked at several other Celanese sites including Dallas and Clear Lake.  He remained a faithful employee for thirty-three years.  God blessed him to retire from Celanese in 1999.

Marseen’s devotion to God and Christian values was very deeply rooted in his family’s heritage.  Marseen’s great-great-great-grandparents, March and Joyce Merchant, were local members of Bethlehem Christian Church in the early 1870’s.  Also, Marseen’s great-grandparents, Alexander and Rebecca Smith, were local members of the church and Cedar Lake community in the early 1880’s.  The Merchant and Smith families have worshiped at Bethlehem Christian Church and supported the Cedar Lake Community for more than 100 years.  As befitting to this strong family history, Marseen accepted Christ at an early age and became active in church.  Marseen joined the Sacred Heart Memorial Christian Church in Bay City, Texas as a child.

In 1966 Marseen married Charlotte Baugh, the daughter of Randolph Baugh and Birdie Lee Luddington.  Charlotte was the love of his life.  They were able to enjoy many aspects of marriage.  In 1978 they welcomed their son, Michael Dewayne Merchant to the world.  There were many good times in the Merchant’s household.  They were able to care for their family and enjoy each other.  They enjoyed family vacations, going to museums, driving to Oklahoma, and seeing the countryside as they spent time with each other and grew together.  Those were great days.  After nearly fifty years of marriage Marseen had the heartbreaking challenge of saying goodbye to Charlotte on this side as she transitioned on November 22, 2014.

Marseen loved fishing!  Red Snapper, Shrimp and Red Fish didn’t stand a chance when he was around.  Not only did he catch them, but he would fry them up as well.  His family and friends also looked forward to him firing up one of his three BBQ pits and grilling some of his famous sausage or ribs.  When he wasn’t on the lake or the grill you could find him relaxing and watching Western.  He truly enjoyed movies, actors and shows like The Long Ranger, Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Hop-a-Long Cassidy and Roy Rodgers.  Those were some of his favorites. 

He was a very dependable person.  He understood that a man’s word was his bond; so Marseen would tell you the truth and prided himself on keeping his word.  If Marseen could give you one thought of advice, he would tell you to be true to yourself.  Do not fool yourself!  Be realistic on the outcome based on what you can do and not on what someone else can do.

On Friday, May 14, 2021 after a very courageous and hard-fought battle with cancer, Marseen went to sleep on this side.  Marseen will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. Those who will often reflect on these and other precious memories of Marseen include his son, Michael; his siblings Philip Jr. (Arvis), and Joyce (Johnny); his nieces and nephews Taunya (Christopher), Tiffiany, Philip III (Dorothy), Jennifer, Johnny Earl, Jr., Jeanna, and Jeneen; his grand nieces and nephews Megan Tavaughn, Armaund Alexander, Jeffery Adam, Tayla, Alexander, Aric, Taryn, Aarilyn, Tynese and Brooklynn Elyse; his great-grand nieces and nephews De’Anne, Amauri, Aiden, Anayah, and Cyre.  Marseen had many cousins, and host of other special relatives including Pinky Austin, Lavendar (Eric) Watters, Patrick Franklin, and Morris Woods who loved him dearly and will miss him tremendously.

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