Bernard (Bootsie) Merchant Jr., 68, of Lexington, Virginia, died Friday January 13, 2012.

Born June 10, 1943 in Maryland, he was a son of the late Bernard Merchant Sr. and Margaret Jeanette Cooper Brown.

Bernard was a member of the First Baptist Church in Lexington, and had retired from Washington and Lee.

Surviving are his wife, Constance Merchant; children: Bernard Merchant III, Vera Merchant, Quintin Merchant, Tammy Dunn, and Khristie Merchant; brothers: Alvin Merchant, William Merchant, Dennis Merchant, Clyde Cooper, Ronnie Murray, Morgan Brown Jr., Curtis Brown, Tyrone Brown, Michael Brown, Victor Brown, Kenny Brown, James Cooper; sisters: Patricia Knight, Margaret Lyle, Linda Cooper, Carolyn Jackson, Marie Merchant, Nancy Smothers, Brenda Braxton, Jeannie Welch, Cindy Oglesby, Peggy Brown, Lisa Brown, and Doris Brown; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two aunts; an uncle and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A memorial service will be conducted 2 p.m., Thursday January 19, 2012 at First Baptist Church with Dr. Louis Grandberry officiating.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.

Arrangements by Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory, Lexington, VA.