Merit Goddard Martens Sullivan

Merit Goddard Martens Sullivan, age 42, died November 27, 2025 at home, surrounded by family and friends.

Merit was born August 22, 1983 in Carbondale, Illinois, to William Martens and Jane Steck Martens. She spent her early years in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she became fluent in Spanish and played in mariachi bands. After high school, Merit returned to Carbondale and received her bachelor’s degree from SIUC, then moved to Columbia, Missouri and received a second bachelor’s degree in linguistics. She married Ernest Sullivan in 2010, moved to Chicago and welcomed a daughter, Siena, in 2016 while completing a master’s degree in health communication from Northwestern University and caring for her ailing mother.

Merit returned to Carbondale in 2019 to take a position as the Year One Curriculum Coordinator at SIU Medical School. She began a doctoral degree in population health, a pursuit interrupted by the diagnosis and treatment of metastatic breast cancer. She married Nabil (Billy) Julkif in January 2025.

Merit was preceded in death by her mother, Jane Steck Martens, her grandparents, Mary Goddard Steck, Dr. Robert Steck, Mary Learner Martens, and Robert Martens. She is survived by husband Billy Julkif, daughter Siena Lucia Martens Sullivan, parents William Martens and Jane Swanson, brother Robert Martens, her extended family in Chicago, Southern Illinois, and throughout the country, and many lifelong friends, including Jack Berger, Emily Attmore, and Alicia and Tamara Sawyer.

Services for Merit will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale on Saturday, December 6, 2025, beginning at 2:00 pm, with light refreshments following the service. A time of visitation for family and friends will be on Saturday, starting at 1:00 pm at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in Merit’s name may be made to St. Francis CARE Animal Shelter, Save Them All Animal Rescue, First Presbyterian Church, Marion Medical Mission, or another charity of the donor’s choice. Envelopes will be available at the service.

Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale assisted the family with arrangements. To leave a story or memory of Merit visit www.meredithfh.com