VIDALIA — Regardless of the size of his wallet or the amount in her bank account, for Cliff Merritt, a customer was a customer.

And as CEO and president of Delta Bank for nearly 14 years, an involved member of multiple civic organizations and an avid golfer and fisherman, Merritt was the epitome of the Miss-Lou to those that worked, or played, alongside him.

Merritt, 54, died Monday after a four-year battle with colon cancer.

After being diagnosed in 2008, community members began creating fundraising efforts like the Cliff Merritt Invitational Golf Tournament and the Delta Bank Bass Classic with the idea of donating all proceeds toward Merritt’s health care bills and other expenses.

But Merritt refused any donations be given to him or his family, but instead that it be put toward cancer research, Natchez resident and friend Fred Middleton said.

“Cliff said, ‘No way — we’re going to use all this money to fight cancer,’” Middleton said. “That’s just the kind of guy he was.”

The unselfishness of his persona also showed in the workplace, as Merritt would often keep his employees informed on each step of his battle with cancer.

“When he was diagnosed, he talked openly to us and he gave us updates each time he went to have a scan,” said Ouida Pecanty, assistant vice president of Delta Bank. “And he never called in sick or anything, so it was kind of hard to get up in the morning and say, ‘I don’t feel like going to work’ when Cliff was going to get chemo treatments and then coming back to work.”

And even though they were a great excuse to play one of the games he enjoyed the most, the golf tournaments were all about one thing for Merritt.

“His big push was letting everyone know that screenings for colon cancer are something everyone needs to do and to really bring it to the forefront of people’s thinking,” Natchez veterinarian and friend Robert Savant said. “Even with this last tournament we wanted to send him and his wife on a trip and he said, ‘No. It needs to go toward cancer research.’”

Savant and Middleton helped organize several of the golf tournaments and spent plenty of time with Merritt on the green — even giving him the nickname “Red Dog” after the star of the children’s books “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”

But Savant said Merritt’s friendly attitude also made him a natural in the banking business.

“He’s a people person, and that’s really what made him a great banker,” Savant said. “He was interested in people and doing what was right for the Miss-Lou.”

And even though it took employees and customers a while to get used to it at first, Pecanty said Merritt would greet each and every customer with the same warm welcome.

“It didn’t matter if you had $2 or $2 million, he treated everyone equal,” Pecanty said. “He was all about the customer, all the time.”

Merritt’s father lived in Vidalia but worked in Natchez, which, Middleton said, gave Merritt the realization that regionalism was an important economic concept.

“He was a gentleman that believed Natchez and Vidalia should be one, and that the river was just a street in the middle of our town,” Middleton said. “He realized that what was good for Natchez was good for Vidalia, and what was good for Vidalia was good for Natchez.

“He had the true Miss-Lou spirit.”

And with involvement in civic organizations on both sides of the river, it wasn’t a surprise to Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland when Merritt would often pile too much on his plate.

“You name an organization, and Cliff Merritt was involved with it,” Copeland said. “He was the type of person that could never say ‘No,’ so he wound up doing a little bit of everything.”

And even though future generations playing in the Cliff Merritt Invitational Golf Tournament won’t have the opportunity to see his smile or shake his hand, Savant said Merritt’s memory will live on through his dedication and hard work to the Miss-Lou.

“It’s a great loss for our community, not only to Delta Bank or the civic organizations he participated in, but to the entire community,” Savant said. “People will remember him as a Christian man that did business the way that it was supposed to be done.”

Merritt is survived by his wife Debra and two daughters.