Meredith Britton

Meredith “Mert” Britton was born on Friday, June 13, 1941, in Lake City, South Carolina to Reverend Willie McPherson Britton and his wife, Mattese Fleming Britton. He attended school in Lake City, South Carolina until his family moved to Trenton, New Jersey. After a subsequent move to Baltimore, he found himself a part of history by being in the first integrated class of Southern High School. Following graduation from Carver Vocational-Technical High School in 1959, Mert enlisted in the United States Army and served in both Germany and Southeast Asia until 1962. After leaving the service, he started his career as a bus driver with the Baltimore Transit Company (now Maryland Transit Authority) and remained in their employment for almost 25 years. During this time, he completed his education with an Associate of Arts from the Community College of Baltimore and a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State College. Seeking a change, Mert tried his hand at selling carpet, cars and multi-level marketing before starting his next career with Maryland Department of Corrections. Initially starting as a Corrections Officer, he was quickly promoted to Case Management at the Maryland House of Corrections. In this position, he assisted inmates during their incarceration and then helped them with their re-entry into society. He had great empathy for the men on his caseload and often remarked that it was but for the grace of God that he was on the right side of the bars. In addition to Case Management, he also served as a photographer for special events and pictorial documentation of the facilities within the system. He retired in 2007. Mert’s secondary career was Music. His father had been a deejay and promoter when Mert was a young boy. He grew up surrounded by both gospel singers and contemporary artists. He would casually mention that Nona Hendricks had been his babysitter and that he knew the Soul Stirrers and Sam Cook. Mert was a self-taught guitarist with an incredible ear. While still in school, he performed with the younger version of the Heavenly Gates, the Gate Specials. He also played guitar with Joe Cotti and the House rockers; a local Baltimore band featured in the 2004 edition of “Baltimore Sounds.” He loved singing and had been described as “a performance waiting for a stage to happen.” Mert also loved working with children. Someone’s broken bicycle would easily turn into a teaching session on bike maintenance for the neighborhood youth. The year prior to his employment at the House of Corrections, he worked with the Tesseract Program being implemented in the Baltimore Public Schools. He also served as a substitute teacher at Dunbar High School. He was a registered Girl School, joining with one of his daughters. He also served as an adult leader with Boy Scouts when his grandsons joined a troop. As a minister’s son, Mert learned early in life to love our Lord. He was a member of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Baltimore, where he attended Sunday School with his sister Betty. For a while, he played guitar for Mount Carmel Baptist Church. He began to explore other paths to God after working with inmates in the prison system. He briefly served as a deacon with the I Am That I Am Tabernacle under the direction of Bishop Michael Frazier. He attended the Kadampa Meditation Center Maryland while he explored Buddhism. After each forage into a different religion, he returned to his Baptist faith. One of his greatest delights was to accompany his grandson Kennedy during services at St. Paul Baptist Church on The Alameda. He regretted that arthritis in his hands prevented him from continuing, he never stopped learning about the different ways people worship. Mert leaves to mourn his loving wife, Lydia Gallant-Britton; his children, Kim Britton, Meredith L. Britton, Lori Britton-Hayman, Sarah Britton-France, Makeba Smith, Christopher Wilson and Richelle McShane Coffman; grandchildren, Correy, Lorren (Monique), Shaina, Kiah, Niko, Zachary, Devin H, Biyanna, Lydia, Kennedy, Devin M., Aiden and Cullen; great-grandchildren, Korey, Jr., Koran, Dash, Jade, Liam and Colston; great great grandson, Kyi’; devoted brother, Willie M. Britton, Jr. and his wife Angela; loving sisters, Bettys Cott, Dorothy Rich and Tausha Britton; brother-in-law, Joseph Malanowski, Jr. and wife Carolyn; sister-in-law, Paula Shell and her husband Rex; and a host of nephews, nieces and cousins. His brother, Derrick Britton, preceded him in death.

Tributes

Meredith Britton

June 13, 1941 - December 7, 2025