Merlin Shorb; minister sang inspirational music
WASHINGTON - The Rev. Merlin W. Shorb Sr., a singer of inspirational music with the Shorb Brothers and a retired minister of Methodist churches in rural Virginia, died Saturday of aspiration pneumonia at Montgomery General Hospital in suburban Olney, Md. He was 73.
The Shorb Brothers - Merl, Happy and Wil - began singing together as children at the campground of the Spencerville Free Methodist Church. They started singing professionally in 1958, sharing their evangelical music with audiences throughout North America. The group was known for its enthusiastic close harmonies, capped by a sermon usually delivered by Merl Shorb, the oldest of the brothers.
The Shorb Brothers performed in churches and at religious campgrounds, on college campuses and in retirement homes and hospitals. During the 1970s and early '80s, they appeared each year for weeklong engagements at the Montgomery County Fair. They recorded 17 albums.
After more than 23 years as a Shorb Brothers mainstay, Mr. Merl Shorb became a full-time minister in Rappahannock County, Va. Something of a modern-day circuit-riding preacher, he served three United Methodist churches simultaneously.
As spiritual leader and pastor for the Rappahannock Charge, as the circuit was known, he tackled any duty required, including publishing church bulletins and orders of service, leading Bible study groups, and playing the piano during worship services.
Disappointed that his three congregations lacked trained voices and a singing tradition, he took charge, preparing musical solos and directing the three choirs during weekly practices and on Sundays.
Mr. Shorb rotated the order in which he visited the three churches, but parishioners at the first two knew he could not linger at the door shaking hands afterward. He and his wife had to drive to the next church.
Despite being busy, he never seemed rushed. "I never noticed him getting preoccupied or anxious to leave a conversation," said his friend Keith Moore. "He was just an amazing listener." 