Robert “Rob” W. Merchant, 71, of Nazareth, died Feb. 27, 202, at St Luke’s Hospital-Anderson Campus, Easton. Born in Annapolis, Maryland, he was a son of the late James William and Emely (Wilson) Merchant. He was the husband of Cecelia (DelBacco) Merchant for 17 years.

He graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.

He was in the U.S .Air Force and was an Avionics Instrumentation technician at Pease Air Force Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

In 1974, he began his photography career working for Crimson Camera, Bell & Howell and others. He then worked for Air Products in Massachusetts and moved to Pennsylvania. He worked for 29-plus years with AT&T, where he was at the close of his tenure the lead Interactive Multimedia Manager. Following retirement, he was the owner/ photographer of Digital Media Magic company. He assisted in freelance work with Christmas City and all eight of the Lehigh Valley Press papers, specifically the Bethlehem Press.

He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church ,where he was on the Communion and Safety teams.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, Steven Merchant and his fiancée Tayler Brandt of Catasauqua, Antonio DelBacco and his life partner Kyle Siegel of Allentown and Ronnie DelBacco and his wife Dawn of Klecknersville; two daughters; G. Lindsey Merchant of Rochester, New York, and Tara Fahr of Norristown; nine grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; two sisters, Betsy Phelps of Ohio and Cathy Franklin of Maryland; a brother, David W. Merchant of Maryland; nieces; and nephews.

He was predeceased by a brother, James W. Merchant.

Contributions may be made to Calvary Baptist Church, 5300 Green Pond Road, Easton, PA 18045.

Arrangements were made by Fiore Funeral Home Inc., Bangor.