Merritt was all about his family
[ DECEMBER 7, 2009 - CHRIS JASTER ]
Thomas Merritt made sure he did the little things in life to make sure his family knew how much he loved them.He would take the time to give his wife and children a hug and a kiss and tell them he loved them before he left to work at the Mosaic potash mine near Esterhazy.
Now, his family is left with only those memories. Merritt suffered an untimely death at the mine on Nov. 28 when the bottom of a storage bin containing raw ore broke. A 40-year-old coworker was sent to hospital, but survived the accident.
Merritt, a 28-year-old father of two, was buried when the bottom of the bin and 500 tonnes of potash ore fell on him while he was working underneath it.
“This has easily been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with,” said Russ Sheppard, Merritt’s uncle. “I’ve dealt with a lot of situations and I thought I’d be prepared for something like this and I feel completely unprepared and at the mercy of my grief. It has been very hard for all of us.
“He was that prototypical Hollywood nice guy that everybody likes and has the right thing to say and is always positive. Let me put it to you this way, if this was my funeral and everyone was sad, Tom would be the guy to come into the room and bring cheer and a positive outlook. He had an unbelievable demeanor and an infectious smile.”
Merritt moved to Esterhazy from Calgary in 2005 to start working at the mine. He enjoyed his work and kept busy playing old-timers hockey and doing some contract work as well.
Everything Merritt did, however, was to benefit his seven-year-old son, four-year-old daughter and his wife. In fact, Merritt spent his last day with his daughter.He even commented afterward how amazing it was to have that opportunity to spend that much time with her.
“He was a focused family man,” said Sheppard. “He worked hard to make sure his little girl, his little boy and his wife were able to have some of the finer things in life like money to play on the local hockey team or the fact that his wife was able to focus on the things she wanted to do and not have to work 9-5 to make ends meet. He worked really hard to make sure that was in place and really had a sense of family.
“I used to teach in Nunavut and fly through Calgary. It didn’t matter if I gave him five minutes’ or ten minutes’ notice, he would come see me every time. He was that guy that would drop everything for you.”
As difficult as this time is in the lives of Merritt’s family, they have received a lot of support from both the community and the mine itself.
“The mine have been more than amazing,” said Sheppard. “They have dealt with the entire situation with their hearts first.
“The president of Mosaic, along with some other officials from the mine, did a personal visit (Wednesday) morning. They were very true to their emotion. They flew in to console and to deal with the situation and make sure Vicki understood the mine wasn’t walking away on a procedural base. They were looking out for her best interest and want to work with her to make sure this is an experience she’s able to move forward from.”
Occupational Health and Safety is investigating the matter. They are focusing on identifying a sequence of events that led to the incident and identifying any way to avoid incidents like this from happening again.
Brad DeLorey, Mosaic’s director of public affairs, said it’s common for crews to work under the bins and he has never heard of a bin breaking before.
The hardest thing the family is dealing with is explaining the situation to Merritt’s young children. Father Albert Schmitz, who led the funeral service at Our Lady of Victories Church in Esterhazy on Thursday, has helped Vicki, Merritt’s wife, with this.
“I told her to explain to the children that God didn’t make this happen, but these things happen in life all the time,” he said. “But God is there with his love and understanding and compassion. He’s there for the grief that we share.
“At times like this it causes great sadness to people that’s overwhelming but it brings people together.”
Sheppard hopes miners everywhere learn an important lesson about their family from Merritt.
“I hope miners use this as an opportunity to refocus on what’s important and to make sure before they head to work every day that they give their kids and their wife and significant others that extra 30 seconds and give them a hug and a kiss and tell them they love them,” he said. “Tom left no doubt to his wife and kids that he loved them because he did those little things.”
Donations may be made to the Thomas Merritt Childrens Trust Fund at the North Valley Credit Union in Esterhazy. The fund, which was created by the family, will be used to fund things Merritt would have made sure his children could participate in, like hockey and school trips.