RADFORD -- RU Electrical Supervisor Merrill Sifford, 66, died recently of complications following a stroke and cancer. Sifford was a member of the RU Facilities Management team for 32 years.

“Merrill was a valuable member of the RU community and will be missed,” said Jorge Coartney, director of facilities management-administration. “He kept close watch on RU’s electrical system operationally and safety-wise.”

“Merrill was the go-to guy for keeping it going,” said Rhett Herman, professor of physics and director of the RU Planetarium whose original projector and console was wired by Sifford in 1978. “Anytime we called Merrill with a problem, it got fixed.”

Sifford is survived by his mother, brother, sister-in-law, three nephews, two nieces, three step-children, and nine great-nieces and great-nephews.