Terry Ray Mercer

Terry Ray Mercer was a longtime resident of Granite City, Illinois, known in his community as a retired steelworker and a former volunteer firefighter. He was not a public figure in the national sense, and no Wikipedia article or wider biographical record exists for him beyond the obituary published by his family. What is documented comes from the notice placed with Wojstrom Funeral Home and Crematory in Granite City, which describes a man rooted in his hometown, his work and his family.

Mercer was born on October 8, 1952, in the Granite City area, the son of Ray and Faye Mercer. He spent his working life at Granite City Steel, one of the region's major employers for much of the twentieth century, before retiring. Outside of his job, he gave his time to the Long Lake Fire Department as a volunteer, a role that reflected the kind of local civic involvement common in small industrial towns along the Mississippi River in southern Illinois.

On October 10, 1973, he married Candace Troha in East St. Louis, Illinois. Their marriage lasted fifty three years. Together they raised four children, daughters Kimberly, Jayme and Shawna and a son, Matthew, and the family grew to include nine grandchildren. He was also survived by a brother, Jerry Mercer. His parents preceded him in death.

Terry Ray Mercer died on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, Illinois, at the age of 74. No cause of death has been made public in the obituary or in any other available report. His death was announced through an obituary arranged by his family with Wojstrom Funeral Home and Crematory, which also handled cremation services.

Because Mercer lived a private life outside the public eye, there have been no public tributes, statements from officials or media coverage beyond the funeral home notice itself. His passing is being marked within his family and his home community of Granite City rather than on a national stage, and this page reflects only what has been documented in that obituary.