Merleen started singing with her father’s gospel group, the Midland Trail Quartet, before starting grade school, so she knew that music would always be a part of her life at that young age. She continued to include music, even after her father died, when she was 13 years old, by being involved with music in church and in school. She took piano lessons for a while and played at functions needing a pianist and/or an accompanist. After finishing school, she married and moved to her new home where she joined community clubs and organizations, which opened opportunities for music, both as an accompanist and as a vocalist. Upon joining their church, she sang in the choir and served as an alternate pianist. When the community was given the option to take possession of a local building and start a theatre company, Merleen jumped at the chance to help and that was the beginning of her theatrical career. Starting with short plays at first, the theatre group began as the Hillbilly Players. After participating in a competition and receiving an award and some notoriety the name was changed to Landmark Players, as their theatre was a landmark building in Sutton. Merleen began auditioning for roles in musical productions and to her credit, she was the lead in many, beginning with the role of Dolly Levi in “Hello Dolly”.