Kimberly Merritt, 51, Macy's worker, dies

Kimberly Jane Merritt, a sales associate at Macy's in South Huntington, died of lung cancer Wednesday at the Hospice Inn Melville. She was 51.

Merritt was a 1978 graduate of Huntington Station's Walt Whitman High School, where she was active in singing, dancing, acting and gymnastics. She continued using those talents at Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C.

"There, Kimberly became active in civil rights activities, including marching against the Ku Klux Klan several times," said her mother, Gladys Merritt-Congo of Huntington Station.

But illness forced Merritt out of college at the end of her sophomore year, her family said. She would have to fight a variety of illnesses the rest of her life.

She returned to Huntington Station in 1999 and soon enrolled in SUNY Old Westbury, graduating in 2002 with a degree in media and communications. She went on to intern at Queens Public Television, in Flushing, where she helped coordinate and write program schedules, the family said.

In 2004, Merritt got the job with Macy's at the Walt Whitman Mall. "She enjoyed a wonderful working relationship with her co-workers there . . . [and] her job enabled her to have a wide variety of positive interactions with the community," said her sister, Jennifer Scott of Huntington Station.

"She was fantastic in dealing with people. She always made them feel better about themselves, and some sent wonderful letters about her to management," said her friend and co-worker in both lingerie and junior sales, Tina Evans of Huntington Station.

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Merritt was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church in Huntington. She also belonged to Alpha Kappa Alpha, the NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women and the Screen Actor's Guild.

Besides her mother and sister, she is survived by her stepfather, Carroll Congo, and a brother, David Grant of Rochester.

Viewing will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. today at M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station.

A service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. John's Episcopal Church. Burial will follow at Pinelawn Memorial Park.