Heidi Tolo Merkel

Heidi Tolo Merkel, 49, of Arlington, VA, died Tuesday, July 19th, 2016, after a three-year battle with cancer. She was born Heidi Christina Tolo on December 6th, 1966 in Munich, Germany to Leland Stanford Tolo and Marian Herrington Tolo, and moved to the United States when she was two years old. Heidi graduated from Hall High School in West Hartford, CT in 1984 and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Bryn Mawr College in 1988. After college she worked for the City of Danbury, CT as a City Planner. In 1993 she married William Merkel in Hartford, and shortly thereafter moved to Chapel Hill, NC to pursue a master’s degree in city planning at the University of North Carolina. Upon graduation in 1995, she took a job as a City Planner for Fairfax County, VA, and continued to work there until the time of her death. Heidi and her family were long-time members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where she volunteered with the youth programs and participated in the bell choirs. She enjoyed spending time with her children most of all, and was an active parent at both Potomac Crescent Waldorf School and the Washington Waldorf School. She is survived by her husband, William Merkel of Arlington, and their three children, Caroline Grace (15), Samuel Tolo (12) and Caleb William (7); her father, Leland Tolo of West Hartford, CT; her brother, Paul Tolo, and sister-in-law, Jennifer Tolo, of Sammamish, WA; and her many beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her mother, Marian, in 2004. The Merkel and Tolo families will host a memorial service at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 3022 Woodlawn Ave in Falls Church, VA on Saturday, August 27th at 11:00 am, with a lunch reception to follow in the church’s fellowship hall. Memorials donations may be made to the Life with Cancer Family Center at www.lifewithcancer.org/donate.