Robert William Metzger, age 76, of Queen Creek, AZ, unexpectedly graduated to Heaven on Friday, April 6, 2018, in the hospital in Gilbert, AZ. He was born in Washington, Iowa, and is pre-deceased by his parents, Nathan Ronald and Bessie Metzger.
Robert became a computer programmer / systems analyst, after leaving the rural area of Olds, Iowa. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife (of nearly 45 years) Mary; his son, Jonathan; daughter, Sarah (who heroically gave of her training in the medical field to stay at his side all of the 88 days of his final journey); son-in-law, Duncan; mother-in-law, Lee Canzano; sister, Jane Eyerly; 3 sisters-in-law, 4 brothers-in-law, 3 nephews, 7 nephews-in-law, and grandsons, Christopher and Erich.
A Facebook page chronicling his last 3 months was lovingly written by daughter Sarah and may be accessed as: Bob’s Hospital MisAdventures.
There will be two memorial services: April 14th at 7pm at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Queen Creek, AZ, with donations being accepted for the building of the new sanctuary, in Bob’s name. The second is on April 20th, at CrossRoads Church of the Nazarene in Chandler, AZ, with donations in Bob’s name being directed to aide veterans: [email protected]
Robert Metzger, or Rob as he was called by some in Iowa, or Bob as he is most widely known now, was raised in Olds, Iowa and resided there through a couple of years at Iowa Wesleyan College. After the Air Force “hijacked” him, where he proudly served as an NSA agent in the Philippines and Vietnam, until his honorable discharge, he made his home in Arizona, with the exception of almost 5 years in the San Francisco Bay area of California in the early to mid-1970s. While there in Concord, CA, he participated with His Way fellowship.
He traveled to many places requiring a passport (including to Brazil, Honduras, and Mexico as a short-term missionary), was a brilliant computer programmer, which also allowed him to travel for jobs, especially for Bechtel Corporation.
Bob renovated several houses, ultimately designing and building our home in Queen Creek, which is a monument to his foresight and knowledge. He enjoyed singing and acted in several local productions, including Walk Through Bethlehem several Christmas seasons in Chandler, AZ at CrossRoads Church of the Nazarene.
His Iowa training allowed him to successfully raise livestock, plant trees, vegetables and fruit in every house we occupied, but especially in Queen Creek when he retired from Banner Corporate offices, about 10 years ago.
Most importantly, he gave generously of his time, talents, and muscle assistance, wherever and whenever there was a need. He made good use of his resemblance to Santa Claus for friends with young ones and even amazed shoppers’ children in unexpected places during the Christmas season, even when out of costume.
He enjoyed vacations, whether at the California beaches or in the AZ and Colorado mountains, and several other locations our timeshare resorts took us. He also enjoyed his retirement years at home in Queen Creek. But he most enjoyed his specially scheduled annual trips “home” to Olds, Iowa. He took his grandson Christopher on a few of these trips, as well as special friends. There, he helped the church of his youth during Midwest Old Threshers weekend, with their fund raising, preparing and selling pork tenderloin sandwiches.
Bob excelled at everything he did, and spent his lifetime showing his Christian faith quietly. He never shrank from what he considered his duties, and was always willing to impart his wisdom, knowledge and expertise. He totally enjoyed smiling and bringing the fullness of his joy to everyone. His imagination and humor fueled his life journey. And he was blessed with the riches of treasured relatives and hundreds of friends, throughout America and even other countries of the world. He leaves a large hole and will be sorely missed.