Mr. Samuel E. DeMerit, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, passed away on July 29, 2025, at the age of 99. Known to his family as Bud, Sam was born on May 17, 1926, in Beaver Dam, WI, to Samuel R. and Winifred M. (nee Olson) DeMerit.

He spent his youth in Port Washington, WI, where he developed a love of music, fostered by hymns and gospel songs learned in Sunday school. His musical education included piano, clarinet, and voice. Through choral singing he became fascinated with languages, with a special fondness for Latin. Sam lived most of his adult life on the East Coast but regularly visited and

maintained ties to his hometown. He was a strong supporter of and donor to the Port Washington Historical Society.

Following graduation, Sam enlisted in the US Navy. He entered an officer training program that sent him to St. Ambrose College and Northwestern University to become an engineer and deck officer. Following the war, he completed a bachelor's degree in classical languages and literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Sam received his master's degree from Harvard in 1953 and then a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany. Afterward, he took teaching positions at Boston University and other schools on the East Coast, landing at Boston Latin School in 1973, where he taught Latin and Greek and remained until his retirement in 1994 at the age of 68.

When he arrived at Harvard in 1949, Sam met two young Catholic men in his rooming house with whom he shared an interest in Gregorian chant. They invited him to Mass at St. Paul's Parish, which featured an excellent Gregorian choir. The liturgy captivated Sam, and after a period of catechesis, he was received into the Catholic Church on Thanksgiving Day, 1952.

A decades-long parishioner at St. Paul's, Sam became a fixture at the daily Mass. During his long tenure, he served the Church as a lector, greeter, Eucharistic minister, usher, volunteer coordinator, and catechist. In 2013, Sam was awarded the Cheverus Award by the Archdiocese of Boston in recognition of his "quiet and unassuming" service to the Church.

Sam was well loved and respected, and he will be remembered for his generosity and profound care shown toward all he encountered. He is survived by his sister Nancy Klever and brother John (Gladys) DeMerit, nieces and nephews John (Karen) DeMerit, Jim (Theresa) DeMerit, David (Kay) DeMerit, Wendy (Fred) Leece, Gary (Noreen) Klever, Nina Klever-Koenig (Mark), Catherine DeMerit (Juan Carlos Helmstedt), Susan DeMerit, Jean DeMerit (Cathy Cetrangolo), Steve DeMerit, Thomas (Joann) DeMerit, Paul DeMerit, Joe DeMerit (Karen Sweeney) and a multitude of friends. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother Jim, sister-in-law Betsy DeMerit, and brother-in-law Otto Klever.

Funeral arrangements will be handled by the Keefe Funeral Home, Cambridge, MA. A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Paul's Church, Harvard Square, on Tuesday, August 19. His body will be cremated and sent to Port Washington, WI, where interment will be provided by the Eernisse Funeral Home. A graveside service will take place on Tuesday, August 26, at 1:30 PM at Union Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Paul's Parish or to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.