Merle J. Stegall was born March 12, 1934, to Roy and Martha Stegall in Lemmon, N.D.
He passed away on Dec. 3, 2024, at St. Agnes Hospital in Fresno, Calif.
A child with no siblings but many cousins — most of them at an age to be playmates. Merle went to school in Lemmon, but would much rather have been working on bicycles in the small shed he built in his backyard.
Eventually, he became a dealer for gas-powered Whizzer motors to attach to any farm boy’s bike. He rode his own “demonstrator” everywhere.
A person who trusted Jesus as his savior from a very young age, he was an inspiration to more and more people the older he became.
Merle attended Highland College and Pasadena City College in Pasadena, Calif. He was married to Barbara Treydite from Monrovia, Calif., in Pasadena on June 17, 1956.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly afterwards and served as a cook. They were blessed with the birth of Lynne Diane (Shinen) in 1958 and then Jean Louise (Duval) in 1961.
The Stegalls helped raise numerous teenaged foster children during their years in Southern California in Ventura County. During those years, Merle was instrumental in helping begin new churches in various towns.
Merle was a dental X-ray technologist and opened laboratories for that purpose in Ventura County. But his special love was helping young teen boys to build their own trucks. He collected old cars to build but never did finish one for himself.
The Stegalls built their home and moved to Mariposa County in 1998. Merle became very active rebuilding and selling vehicles as a used car dealer until he retired a second time in 2019.
He was always active in church activities and for about three years was a volunteer with Spiritual Services at Dignity Hospital in Merced. Merle loved interacting with the hospitalized patients and never missed an opportunity speak to them or anyone else about Jesus. He prayed with anyone, anywhere, anytime.
A memorial service is planned for the latter of part of July 2025, to accommodate family from South Dakota, North Carolina, South Carolina, California and friends in the community.
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