Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Monday, July 24, 2006 at 04:58:03 :
Marin IJ
Wed., Jan. 1, 2003
Merola, county's first Honor Farm director, dies at age 64
By Paul Liberatore
Ralph Merola, the first director of the Marin County Honor Farm, died on Christmas Day of lung cancer. He was 64.
Mr. Merola was a county probation officer when he was named to head the newly-formed Marin County Department of Corrections in 1973.
In that position, he was instrumental in developing the honor farm as an innovative minimum security facility, managing it for 14 years.
After leaving his post at the honor farm in 1987, he continued his career as a supervising probation officer, retiring in 1996 after 27 years with the county.
In retirement, he would occasionally fill in with the department as needed, including a three-month stint a year ago.
"He was always looking for better ways to do things," said Anne Wooliever, chief deputy probation officer. "He was very experienced. There wasn't any job he couldn't do. His death is a very big personal loss. He had a lot of friends in the department."
Born in Chicago, Mr. Merola moved with his family to Whittier in Southern California as a teen-ager. After high school, he studied for a year at the American University in Beirut and later graduated from California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
He worked for the AFL-CIO in Southern California and the Los Angeles County Probation Department before moving to Marin in 1969.
He last lived in San Rafael.
Mr. Merola is survived by his wife, Colleen Johnson; a daughter, Michele Merola Zwartjes of Albuquerque, N.M.; two granddaughters, Molly and Annie Zwartjes; a brother, Joe Merola and a sister, Angela Merola, both of Whittier.
Mr. Merola died surrounded by his family, including his former wife, Christine Ferguson of Fairfax.
A private memorial will be on Feb. 1.
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