Patricia Metzger

Patricia J. Metzger, age 79, of Tuscarawas died Wednesday, September 17, 2008, in Union Hospital at Dover following a lengthy illness.Born at Uhrichsville on February 22, 1929, Pat was a daughter of the late Jess C. and Margaret E. (Curtis) Wright.Pat was a 1947 graduate of Canton-McKinley High School and later worked in the medical field as a nurse’s aid in Twin City Hospital at Dennison for a number of years.Following her retirement, Pat found great joy in volunteering in Union Hospital at Dover.Additionally, she enjoyed the Christmas holiday, a time when she would spend hours in her kitchen baking cookies and homemade candies to give away as gifts to friends and family.Pat especially enjoyed eating out with her friends and neighbors as well as attending regular outings with high school classmates from Canton-McKinley. For many years, Pat could often be found on either a shopping trip or in deep conversation with her good friend, the late Marge Johnson.Pat was a big fan of family gatherings and could not wait for a family reunion or a holiday to come. She simply loved to be in the company of her family and it did not matter what the occasion.She is survived by her husband, Donald Metzger, whom she married November 20, 1970; five children, Carol (Richard) Haas of Kent, Jerry (Susan) Quillen of Dover, Susie (Terry) Gray of Chippewa Lake, Nancy Quillen of New Philadelphia, and Curt (Melanie) Quillen of Tuscarawas; a brother, Curtis (Geraldine) Wright of Allen Park, Michigan; and two sisters, Marcia (Stan) Surmay of Canton, and Dana Ralph of Brownsville, Texas.Five grandchildren, Jessica Gray, Joshua Quillen, Zachary Quillen, Kimberly Quillen, and Adam Quillen, two step-grandchildren, Theresa Benson and Dennis Gray; and one great-grandchild, Jayden Nicholson completes the family.In addition to her parents, Pat is preceded in death by a brother, Michael Curtis.The family will receive friends on Friday, September 19, 2008 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home & Crematory at New Philadelphia. Pastor Blanche Tyree will lead a celebration of Pat’s life in the funeral home’s chapel at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 20, 2008. Burial will follow in St. James Lutheran Church Cemetery at Tuscarawas.Those unable to attend are invited to send the family personal condolences by signing the online guest registry located on the funeral home’s website.The Metzger family requests contributions be made to either St. James Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 336, Tuscarawas, OH 44682, or to the ALS Family Support Group of Ohio 513 Chauncey Avenue, New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663.