Merna Joy Cawi

Memorial Graveside Service:

Friday, August 9, 2024

11:00 am

Highland City Cemetery

Merna Joy Cawi, 89, of Highland, IL, most recently of Glen Carbon, IL, passed away on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.

She was born on December 27, 1934, in Valley Park, MO, to William & Elizabeth (nee Milton) Morris. On December 23, 1953, she married Thomas F. Cawi in Waterloo, IL.

To know Merna was to know of her world travels. Stories of adventures near and far told of a life well-traveled and full of memories. From Thailand to Egypt and from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Arc de Triomphe, working for TWA not only brought opportunities for such great travel but gave Merna the biggest sense of pride. To have a job you love is no simple feat. To have had a job that still brought the biggest smile to your face 34 years into retirement is astonishing. Merna attended Waterloo high school where she graduated early at 16 yrs. old in the class of 1951 and went on to attend SIUC. Bowling for Concord Bowl and Square Dancing were just some of her favorites throughout the years.

Merna retired early at 55 and spent her retirement years doing what she loved. You could find her most days in her garden and was known in Highland for her hybridized Irises (from Schreiner's Gardens in Salem, OR). She opened her garden up for viewing every Mother's Day and loved watching the joy it brought to others. An avid reader, you could also find her nestled into her big blue comfy reading chair most afternoons. A frequenter of Ponderosa and KFC, and then later Faith Countryside Homes and then Eden Village's Independent Living Center, there was never a salad bar that Merna didn't enjoy. Merna thoroughly enjoyed her STL Rams (until 2016...thank you very much Stan Kroenke) and her beloved STL Cardinals.

A life well-traveled, well read, and well lived is what some can only dream of, but Merna lived it with her every being.

Merna was preceded in death by her parents, William & Elizabeth Morris; sons, Michael Thomas Cawi, Mark Douglas Cawi; and brother and sister-in-law, Vernon (Shirley) Cawi.

She was survived by her husband, Thomas F. Cawi, Glen Carbon, IL; daughter, Sheri Lorz, Athol, ID; daughters-in-law, Barb Cawi, Highland, IL, Susanna Hughes, Bamberg, Germany; grandchildren, Eric (Hesper) Cawi, Honolulu, HI, Cheryl (Joe) Kovarik, Glen Carbon, IL, Leslie Wilson Torres, Bamberg, Germany; great grandchildren, Aaliyah Wilson Torres, Bamberg, Germany, Adrien Wilson Torres, Bamberg, Germany, Caleb Kovarik, Glen Carbon, IL, Brianna Kovarik, Glen Carbon, IL; brother, Neil (Barbara) Morris, Apollo Beach, FL; and sister-in-law, Ann (Charles) Brickey, Nashville, IL

Memorial donations may be made to the Highland Lions Club

Memorial Graveside Service: Friday, August 9, 2024, 11:00 am, at Highland City Cemetery

Clergy: Pastor Matt Embry, Mosaic Church, Highland, IL

Interment: Highland City Cemetery

Meridith Funeral Home, Highland, IL