Merle is buried at Cleveland’s Highland Park Cemetery, near the golf course where he and Gerald Gold played golf. Foster, Merle’s brother, in 1978 would join his brother in death at the same cemetery.

On the morning of May 6, 1968, Merle went with his long-time friend, Myron Hoff, to obtain their B-12 shots, a treatment the two men received for years to boost their energy. Their regular doctor was not in, and Merle proceeded with his injection. Myron was not comfortable with the situation and refused treatment. Later that day, as Merle was at Cleveland-Hopkins Airport, preparing to travel to Washington, D.C. for his new job as Consumer Counsel, he collapsed, dying of an apparent brain aneurysm.

Source

McCurdy Rhodes, B. by Dana, R. (Personal Communication, March 22, 2015).