ROURKE, Merle Elaine

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizon Saturday, December 12, 2009 Merle Rourke died Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, at Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix, Ariz. She was born Dec. 6, 1923, in Jerome, Ariz., to parents Claude and Beatrice (Raynor) Hayes. She is survived by a son, Michael Rourke (Kathy) of Manchester, Md.; a brother, Eugene Hayes of Prescott; two granddaughters; and three great-grandchildren. A daughter, Kathy Pierce, and a half-brother, Blaine Raynor, preceded her in death. Merle graduated from Prescott High School in 1942 and completed nurses' training in Denver, after which she became the chief surgical nurse at the New Mexico State Mental Hospital for several years. When she returned to Arizona, she gained the respect and admiration of the indigent while rescuing them off the dangerous Phoenix streets at night. She felt safe as she worked alone for the LARC organization, because the street people called her their "Street Angel" while seeing that no harm came to her. No services are planned. Merle has been interred at the Greenwood Cemetery in Phoenix. Information provided by survivors.