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Merle Stonewall Tucker is Cameron and Pam Tucker's father and also Barb's husband.

He is first introduced in "The Last Walt". When he visits Mitch and Cam they decide to invite Jay for dinner, as he and Merle never really bonded. Jay tries to avoid the dinner pretending to be sick but Mitch forces him to come along and make an effort. At the same time, Cam is forced to tell his father to do the same with Jay, as he doesn't like him either. Over dinner, the two men clash, with Jay hating the fact that Merle treats Mitchell like the woman in the relationship. Jay and Merle eventually talk and realize that they both try and treat their son's partner as the woman in a relationship because it makes them feel better. They finally come together and agree that they just have to accept the fact that their sons are gay and happy together.

In "The Wedding (Part 1)", Jay takes Merle to his club to enjoy a "Spa Day", showing the men have learned to get along. While at the club the two are met by a couple of other men in the sauna who ask questions about Cam and Mitch's wedding, not realizing that it is a gay marriage. After uncomfortably answering a few questions Jay and Merle quickly leave after the men ask who is the father of the bride. It is during the spa day that Jay tells Merle, who is in a rough patch in his marriage to Barb, that divorcing Dede was the best thing he ever did. This leads Merle to declare he is leaving Barb, naively thinking he will meet a new woman as attractive as Gloria, just as Jay did. However, in "The Wedding (Part 2)", Jay and Gloria manage to set Merle and Barb back on track and they happily reunite. Merle walks Cam down the aisle, finally accepting him and Mitchell as a gay couple.

Appearances

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

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