Merrill Howard Moore

Merrill Howard Moore, 80, of Johnson City, departed this life peacefully on Tuesday, October 7, 2014, at Johnson City Medical Center after a lengthy illness. A lifelong resident of Johnson City, Merrill is best known and remembered as 'the face of the news'? in upper East Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and eastern Kentucky. He worked in television news at WCYB Channel 5 in Bristol for nearly 4 decades, serving most of those years as anchorman for the stations six oclock news. Merrills love of broadcasting dated to childhood, when he and friends would take wire kitchen strainers and pretend they were microphones. His now-familiar voice first went out over the airwaves at the age of 16, when he hosted WETB Radios Sunday morning show, 'Follow the Funnies.'? Later, following two years service in the Army, Merrill returned to WETB, where he continued to entertain and delight area residents as a popular and inventive DJ, spinning hit records of the day and creating colorful characters with funny accents for comedic on-air skits. In 1962, Merrill made the move to TV, rising in his first year to anchor WCYBs nightly eleven oclock newscast, and assuming the same role for the six oclock slot two years later, a position he did not relinquish until his retirement in 2000. During his 38 years as a newscaster, Merrill came to be known, by the public and colleagues alike, for honest, accurate, straight-forward reporting untainted by hype or bias. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Johnson City and he attended the Grace Fellowship Church. Merrill was son of the late Roy Ezra and Mary Josephine Broyles Moore. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his step-father, Earl W. Harris. Survivors include: his wife of 57 years, Irene W. Moore of the home; a son and daughter-in-law, Mark Merrill Moore and Deborah and their daughter, Meagan M. Moore all of Richmond, VA; a daughter and son-in-law, Stacy Moore Tivett and Rick and her children, Kelsi and James all of Johnson City; several nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends on Friday, October 10, 2014 from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at the Grace Fellowship Church. A funeral service will follow under the direction of Pastor Tom Oyler at 7:00 pm. A committal service will be conducted on Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 11:00 am at the Monte Vista Memorial Park. Family and friends are asked to assemble at the cemetery by 10:45 am. Honorary pallbearers will be his many, many, many friends and family.