Merrill was born in the Peace River area. She was raised on a farm in the community of Tomslake.

Merrill met Richard in 1989 and in 1990 they married and moved to Fort St. John. In 1991 their son Chris was born. Soon friends were asking Merrill to babysit on a regular basis. This opened the door to Merrill opening Wee Care Daycare, a licenced family daycare centre. Merrill operated/managed the daycare until December 1997.

Merrill started her real estate career in January 1998 with Sutton Quest Realty and in December 1999 joined Re/max Action Realty(1991) Ltd. In December 2004 she received her 5 year plaque for continued committment with Re/max.