MERKEL EDWARD A. Of Stanton Heights, formerly of Bloomfield, on Saturday, February 20, 2016,passed away at the age 87. Ed retired from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire after 35 years of service with the rank of Captain. He was a member of Pittsburgh Firefighters Local #1, Veteran Firefighters Assn. of Pittsburgh and the International Association of Firefighters AFL, CIO, CLC. Ed was a US Navy Veteran, 1945-1955. He was a member of the American Legion and the VFW. Ed and Hutch enjoyed traveling and took many cruise vacations to various parts of the world. They also enjoyed their frequent trips to Atlantic City, Las Vegas and their many bus trips to the casinos in Pennsylvania, New York and Canada. At the anniversary dinner at the LaMont, Ed put his arm around Hutch and said “Sixty wonderful years honey; it was one hell of a ride wasn’t it?”