Early and Childhood Years
Merrill was born as Barbara Butler in a U.S. Army hospital in Frankfurt, Germany in 1957. Her father, Charles Butler, was a West Point graduate who served in the Korean War, rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel, and was killed in Vietnam when Merrill was a freshman in high school.
Growing up, she lived in Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Brazil. Her family moved to Maine in time for her to attend Waterville High School and the University of Maine, where she earned a law degree. After working for the law firm of Verrill Dana, she opened her own practice with her husband, Phil Merrill. With Philip, she has two children: Nicholas, age 19, and Jacqueline, age 17.In her practice, she became a lobbyist, working mainly for non-profit organizations, before the state legislature. In 2004, she ran as a Democrat for the Maine House of Representatives in Appleton. She won the general election with over 60% of the vote.
Read more about this topic: Barbara Merrill
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