Lois B. Merk, a former teacher at Radcliffe College, died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease on September 30 at Symmer Hospital in Arlington, Mass. She was 89.

A long-time resident of Belmont, Mass., Merk graduated from Smith College and received her master's degree from Clark University in 1927, and a Ph.D. from Radcliffe in 1956.

Merk taught history at Wheaton College and Northeastern University and was a tutor at Radcliffe College. She specialized in American Western history and the women's suffrage movement in Massachusetts.

For many years she worked closely with her husband, Frederick B. Merk, Gurney professor of history at Harvard, assisting him with his research.

After her husband's death in 1977, Merk arranged his papers for the Harvard Archives.

Research Honors

Merk was honored by Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library for her research contributions.

She was a member of the Organization of American Historians, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Belmont Chapter of League of Women Voters and the First Church of Belmont.

Merk is survived by her two children, Katharine M. McNally of Ontario, N.Y., and Frederick B. of Winchester, Mass., and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in the First Church of Belmont on November 14.