Rolaine Mann Merchant

Martha Rolaine Mann Merchant, born in Birmingham, Alabama, March 24, 1931, died Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Milton, Georgia. She is survived by her four children: Martha Alice Merchant Griffin, M.Ed. (Joseph Griffin) of Georgia; Barbara Marie Merchant, M.Ed. (Michael Acker) of Washington State; John Conley Merchant, III of Alabama; Roland Clayton Merchant, M.D., Sc.D. of Florida; and three grandchildren: James Winfield Hendershott of Montana; Laura Marie Griffin, B.S.N., M.S.N. of Alabama; and Robert Clayton Hendershott of Georgia. She was preceded in death by her husband John Conley Merchant, Jr. and parents Hoye Estelle Miller Mann and Roland Elbert Mann. She was the eldest of the Mann grandchildren and the youngest of the Miller grandchildren. Her life was shaped by her love for music and education. She was a school music and piano teacher, and the first in her family to graduate from college, earning degrees from Snead College, Birmingham-Southern College, and the University of Alabama. She taught for 35 years in Alabama and Georgia and was active in her church and community after retirement. She loved reading murder mysteries and working crossword puzzles, and was much loved by her family and friends. She passed peacefully at her home with her pets and family nearby.