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Merrill was well-liked, athletic, and known to be a prankster.

Merrill Reed Binks was born February 3, 1943, to Merrill Dean “Dick” Binks and Annie Rowe Beck Binks. Utah County was home from beginning to end, and Spanish Fork was woven through nearly every part of his life.

He grew up working on his Uncle Ed’s farm, thinning beets and learning to work hard, although work certainly didn’t cure him of his mischievous streak. Merrill was well-liked, athletic, and known to be a prankster. He could work all day and still find time for a little trouble.

Sports came naturally to him. He played church basketball and was a fullback at Spanish Fork High School, carrying his love of football with him to Snow College. He remained loyal to his Spanish Fork Dons and became an enthusiastic BYU Cougar fan, but some of his favorite teams weren’t found on television. Merrill coached young athletes, including his own son and nephews, and showed up for children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews in whatever sport they loved. Merrill knew the game was important—but so was having somebody on the sidelines who believed in you.

But if football was something Merrill loved, horses were part of who he was.

He owned them for most of his life. He rode, team roped, participated in wild cow milking and district meets, and remained a horseman right to the end. Merrill joined the Diamond Fork Riding Club in 1962, beginning an association that would span more than six decades.

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He created the annual Desert Rides and participated in other rodeo activities, including the Buckaroo Rodeo.

Over the years, Merrill served the club in nearly every way a person could. He was president in 1976 and 1992, served as vice president at various times, spent more than 15 years as an officer on the Board of Directors, and served four years on the rodeo committee. He created the annual Desert Rides and participated in other rodeo activities, including the Buckaroo Rodeo.

Merrill was one of those people behind the scenes who showed up, pitched in, and helped make hometown traditions happen year after year. In 2015, those years of service were recognized when he was inducted into the Fiesta Days Hall of Fame, following his father, Dick Binks, who had been honored before him. A decade later, in 2025, Merrill was inducted into the Utah Cowboy Heritage Hall of Fame.

Some people knew him as Merrill. Plenty knew him simply as “Square Belly.”

Around Spanish Fork, you could say “Square Belly,” and plenty of old-timers, cowboys, and pipe plant workers knew exactly who you meant—and how to find Square Belly’s coffee hangout.

There were other things about Merrill that didn’t necessarily fit the cowboy image quite so neatly. He had remarkably beautiful penmanship. He could pull off an epic prank. He loved a good story. And wherever he went, he seemed to collect people.

Merrill put his hands to good use as a mechanic at Pacific States Cast Iron—the pipe plant—where he worked for nearly 35 years before retiring.

Merrill and his first wife, Elaine Stark Binks, were the parents of five children: Leslie Ann Ramage (Ted), Machele Wenger, Kevin Merrill Binks, Allison Binks (Tom Dolan), and Angela Binks Dean (Chad).

Merrill later married JoAnn Jones Harrison Binks and welcomed her children, Cristy Simons (James), Marcy Keller (Darren), and John Harrison (Emily), into his family. His family grew to include 21 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife, JoAnn; his sisters, Rowene Vest (Billy) and Mary Binks (Sandy Gustaveson); his brothers, Richard Binks (Tammy) and Mark Binks (DeeAnn); his children and their families; and more nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, cowboys, coworkers, neighbors, and old friends than could reasonably be named here.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Dick and Annie, and his siblings Gale Binks, Carolann Spiers, Beverly Shepherd, and Jeneanne Davis Gehringer—all of whom he loved very, very much.

Merrill is a current member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His faith belonged alongside the other things that grounded his life: family, hard work, friendship, fishing, and the community he called home.

A list like this can tell you where Merrill went to school, where he worked, whom he married, and how many people called him Grandpa or Uncle Merrill. It still doesn’t quite tell you who he was.

For that, you would probably have to drive around town with him.

Watch someone wave. Listen while another person tells you something about your father you’ve never heard before. Hear the story get a little bigger with every telling—as good stories sometimes do.

And slowly realize that the man sitting beside you had left pieces of himself all over this county: at the rodeo grounds, on a football field, at Pacific States, on horseback, in his church, around somebody’s Camp Chef, and in the memories of an awful lot of people.

That was Merrill.

That was Square Belly.

And if you have a story about him, tell it.

That’s how a cowboy like Merrill Binks ought to be remembered.

Merrill’s funeral service will be held Monday, October 12th at the Ponderosa Event Center at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds, 475 South Main Street, Spanish Fork, Utah. Services will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., with a brief graveside service to follow at the Salem City Cemetery, 130 East 965 South, Salem, Utah.