SULLIGENT, Ala. — William “David” Merchant Sr., 64, died Feb. 24, 2013, in Vernon, Ala. Services are today at 2 p.m. at Otts Funeral home Chapel with Paul Barham and James Godsey officiating. Burial will follow in Wofford Cemetery. Mr. Merchant was born March 11, 1948, in Lamar County, Ala., to the late Daniel Bradford and Ruby Gray O’Mary Merchant. He attended Sulligent Schools and was a graduate of the police academy in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He was formerly employed as a deputy for the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department. He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and Fountain of Life Church. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sisters, Lovie Ann Compton, Dorothy Sue Stanford and Mary Tallulah Tootsie Corbett. Survivors include his wife, Kathleen “Kathy” Merchant of Sulligent; son, David Merchant Jr. of Sulligent; daughters, Tammy Rawls of Hamilton, Ala., and Angela Daw of Beaverton, Ala.; brothers, Wayne Merchant of Vernon and Sammy Merchant of Sulligent; sisters, Tommie Lee Foster of Sulligent and Patsy Ruth McGee of Millport, Ala.; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Pallbearers are Terry Perkins, Brooks Hollis, Sambo Merchant, Daniel Merchant, Curtis Graham and Clyde Driver.