Submitted by Cheney Witt Funeral Home

Merle F. Hart, Jr., age 83, a resident of Fort Scott, Kansas, passed away Saturday, July 29, 2017, at his home.

He was born February 13, 1934, in Chetopa, Kan., the son of Merle F. Hart and Martha Lou Bradley Hart. Merle graduated from the Fort Scott High School with the Class of 1952. He later enlisted with the United States Air Force. He married Dolores Juanita Daum on June 5, 1955, in Fort Scott. Following his service with the Air Force, Merle returned to Fort Scott and began a 26 year career with the United States Post Office. Merle enjoyed hunting, reading and attending estate auctions.

Survivors include his wife, Dolores, of the home; three daughters, Candy Hart and husband, Craig Dunn, of St. Paul, Minn., Kim Hart-McBride and husband, Ron McBride, of Olathe, Kan. and Kelly Hart and husband, John Lane, also of Olathe; two grandchildren, Jacob Hart-Lane, of Augusta, Kan., and Aubrey McBride, of Emporia, Kan. Also surviving are a brother, Kenneth Hart and wife, Evangeline, of Garland, Kan., and a sister, June Christy and husband, Gene, of Girard, Kan. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, August 2, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will follow in the Memory Gardens Cemetery where military honors will be conducted by the Olson Frary Burkhart Post #1165 Veterans of Foreign Wars. The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 10 a.m. until service time at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the National Rifle Association or the Fort Scott Public Library and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook atcheneywitt.com.