An Orono real estate developer died Saturday when he was cutting down a tree about 30 miles north of Brainerd, according to the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded to a call about an injury from a fallen tree on property near Kimble Shores Drive in Ideal Township around 1:30 p.m. Emergency responders found Graham Merry, 31, dead at the scene. He appears to have been cutting the trunk when it crushed him.
Merry, a managing partner at St. Paul-based Cullen Real Estate LLC, graduated with a biochemistry degree from the University of St. Thomas and later attended dental school at the University of Minnesota.
"He built a successful rental property business from scratch and took great pride in his work. Simultaneously, he enjoyed his one day a week as a dentist," reads his Star Tribune obituary.
"He could not sit still, he was always tinkering, building, planning and dreaming."
Merry leaves behind a wife and three children under 4 years old.
Liz Sawyer
