Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
2006-06-12 09:00:00.0
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Annapolis -

Friends and colleagues described Philip Merrill, a prominent publisher and former diplomat who was reported missing after a solo sailing excursion this weekend, as someone passionate about sailing, newspapers, public service and philanthropy.

“Phil was an avid sailor, and for him to go sailing by himself, that was Phil Merrill all the way,” said Tom Marquardt, executive editor of The (Annapolis) Capital, which is part of Merrill’s publishing company, Capital-Gazette Communications Inc.

“When you get a call like that, you are in such disbelief. You can’t imagine something like this happening to someone you revere so much.”

A friend and fellow sailing enthusiast, Gary Jobson, an ESPN sailing commentator, said he had visited Merrill at his home near the Severn River only a week ago.

“My last words to him at 6:30 p.m. Sunday were, ‘Phil, I look forward to sailing with you soon,’ ” said Jobson, who befriended Merrill in 1978 after he started writing sailing stories for The Capital.

After learning to sail at age 7, Merrill had been cruising the Chesapeake Bay for nearly a half-century, according to a statement released by his family, whom Marquardt described as “distraught.”

“He just couldn’t resist a sunny day with the wind at his back,” the family said.

In 2002, Merrill was sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney as president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and served at that post until 2005.

In college, Merrill was editor of the Cornell University Daily Sun and later worked at several newspapers in the New York area before working in the Army, State Department, Defense Department and NATO.

Marquardt said he had worked with 72-year-old Merrill since 1977.

“I don’t think I ever met anyone as enthusiastic about newspapers,” he said. “He was so knowledgeable about world events.”

Capital-Gazette Communications Inc. also publishes Washingtonian magazine and four other Maryland newspapers.

Merrill and his wife, Eleanor, live in Arnold and have three grown children, Douglas, Cathy and Nancy.

The University of Maryland journalism school and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation headquarters were named after Merrill for his multimillion-dollar contributions.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com