OGDENSBURG — The funeral for Merle M. Gaines, 72, of 1111 Jay St., will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the V.F.W. on Depot Street in Geneva. Burial will be in Ohio.

He died Thursday at Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

There will be no calling hours. Arrangements are with Frary Funeral Home.

He was a bartender at the Eagles Aerie and the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Geneva, Ohio.

He was born Aug. 27, 1935, in Ohio, son of Arthur and Anna Yates Gaines. His father died and he was raised by his mother and Leo Reynolds. He was a well-known football athlete during his high school years and served in the Navy for four years.

Surviving are a son and his wife, James and Carin, Ogdensburg; a daughter, Stephanie Logan, Toledo, Ohio; two sisters and a brother-in-law, his twin, Merilyn LeMay, and Marion and August Volpone, all of Geneva, Ohio; a brother, Harry, Ashtabula, Ohio, and nine grandchildren.

A sister, Verna Spellman, died before him.

Donations may be made to a charity of one's choice.

Condolences may be left at www.fraryfuneralhome.com.