Judith Merril dedicated her life to wrting, editing, and garnering appreciation for the Science Fiction genre. Merril's unique personality helped create an impressive reputation in the SF community. Indeed, Merrill was active in antiwar activites, smoked cigarettes her whole life, and smoked marijuana. Robert J. Sawyer, an admirer and colleague of Merril's called her a "child of the Sixties," as much as one can use that name for someone born in 1923 (Sawyer 3). But Sawyer also examined the way Merril transformed the science fiction genre in a large part due to her gender. "Judy brought a feminine element back into it; she demonstrated with that one, simple, stark story ["That Only a Mother"] that SF could be a vehicle not just for detached extrapolation about the future, but for powerfully moving explorations of the human conditon" (Sawyer 3). Indeed, Merril has been praised through the years for creating powerful, realistic characters. In doing so, Merril took the focus of the SF genre away from mere "manly" scientific jargon, to a real literary genre. In fact, in 2005, science fiction scholar Rob Latham determined that "throughout the 1950s, Merril... had taken the lead in promoting higher literary standards and a greater sense of professionalism within the field" ("Judith Merril" 2).

While acknowledged for furthering the field of SF, Merril is also recognized for her contribution to the femininst movement and introducing a broader range of people to new ideas through SF. For instance, a teacher and researcher of gender studies, science fiction, and contemporary literature at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Lisa Yaszek, gives Merril much credit for opening up the genre of SF to new audiences by presenting a different style. "Women were key political actors in the peace movements of the postwar era, and Merril was at the forefront of that activity. Rather than taking to the streets, however, she chose to work in what might seem to be the last place anyone would have expected: the field of SF. Thus Merril's own antiwar, pro-peace message reached a number of audiences well beyond those who were already converted to the cause... Furthermore, as SF became an increasingly fashionable part of American culture, innovative stories such as Merril's began to reach whole other audiences through college seminars, newspaper reviews, and television dramatizations" (Yaszek). Indeed, Yaszek goes on to refer to SF as a "literary gateway" for Merril's social and political analyses.

Indeed, Judith Merril was certainly an influential player in the SF arena during the midcentury and until her death in 1997. Accredited with bringing professionalism to the genre and widening its audience, Merril did so in her own way and on her own terms; she emigrated to Canada to protest the war and reach out to struggling college students. Merril's supporters and admirers are loyal and numerous - there were celebrations of her life while she was still alive, and many more since her death.

en pati vult ex eis!