Former Tribal Council member Darrel Mercier walks on

Darrel Leroy Mercier, a member of the Tribe’s first post-Restoration Tribal Council, walked on Friday, Sept. 22, at the age of 87.

Mercier was born on Sept. 23, 1929, in Grand Ronde and he worked on the Tribe’s Restoration efforts starting in the early 1970s.

He joined Kathryn Harrison, Dean Mercier, Candy Robertson, Frank Harrison, Merle Leno, Russell Leno, Mark Mercier and Henry Petite on the first interim Tribal Council that served following 1983’s Restoration after being elected from a field of 27 candidates on Feb. 11, 1984.

He was elected to the first official Tribal Council on March 23, 1985, receiving the third most votes among 28 candidates, and served through May 1986.

“I am concerned about the needs of our people, young and old alike,” he said in a candidate statement that appeared in the February 1984 edition of Smoke Signals. “I will work for the betterment of the Tribe, in all honesty, as I have been for the past nine years. … I will have the Tribe’s best interest in mind at all times before making any decisions.”

He was a lifelong resident of Grand Ronde and had eight children.

Viewing will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, in the Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center. Recitation of the Rosary will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Grand Ronde.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in the Tribal gym and private interment will follow. Finger foods and desserts are welcome at the dinner following the services at the Elders Activity Center on Thursday.

To leave a message or memory, visit www.dallastribute.com.

A full Waking On notice will appear in Smoke Signals at a future date.