1932 – Wilfred J. Metz – 2019
Wilfred J. Metz, age 87, of Windom, died November 5, 2019, at the Good Samaritan Village assisted living facility in Mountain Lake, Minnesota. He had resided there for the past two years as he faced a terminal cancer diagnosis with faith, good cheer, and selflessness.
Willy was born on June 9, 1932, near Adrian, Minnesota, the eighth child in a family of twelve children, to the late Peter and Frances (Gerardy) Metz. He moved with his parents and family to a farm near Hadley, Minnesota in 1935. He received his elementary education in the Hadley School and later graduated from Slayton High School in 1950. He served in the U. S. Navy from 1950 to 1954 during the Korean War. After he was honorably discharged, he returned to Hadley. Then, with the aid of the G.I. Bill, he attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, where he graduated in 1958 with a B. S. Degree in Agronomy.
On June 23, 1957, he was united in marriage to LaVonne Jones at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Lake Wilson, Minnesota. After graduation from college, they moved to Windom, Minnesota, where he was employed by Thompson Lands/Fairland Management Company as a professional farm manager and real estate broker for 42 years. He was involved in the management and sale of farms until retiring in 1994. After retirement, he continued to sell farmland as an independent contractor for Fairland Management Company for five more years. He was active in his church, the American Lutheran Church of Windom, where he ushered for over 40 years, served on various committees and boards, and was part of a men’s Bible study for many years. He was a member of the National and Minnesota Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers Associations and served as the State president in 1974. He served on the Windom School Board for six years from 1975 to 1981 and was appointed to serve again from 1982 to 1983 to complete the term after another member’s death. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Southwest State Bank of Windom from 1984 to 1999.
He was a model husband, father, and grandfather and loved his children and grandchildren very much.
He especially enjoyed traveling and camping with his family during his children’s youth. Because he had a life-long interest in American history, many of these camping trips included visits to historic sites in nearly all of the lower 48 states. During the latter decades of his life, Willy spent thousands of hours researching family genealogy, authoring several publications, including one each on the history of the Metz and Gerardy families.
He is survived by three sons, Terrance (Karen Mateer) Metz of St. Paul, Minnesota; Robert (Carol Schwarz) Metz of Lakeville, Minnesota; James (Deborah Stangler) Metz of Cambridge, Minnesota; and five grandchildren: Andrew (Buse) Metz of Irvine, California; Brady Metz of Farmington, Minnesota; Cody Metz of St. Paul, Minnesota; Caitlin (Metz) Heggestad and Ben Heggestad of Rochester, Minnesota; and Christian Metz of Duluth, Minnesota; four sisters: Sally (Frank) Vos and Jane (Dave) Wagner of Slayton, Minnesota; Irene (Robert) Stevens, Cold Spring, Minnesota; and Dorothy (Dick) Randall, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota; sister-in-law Joyce Elliott of Crown Point, Indiana; and two brothers: Ray (Gay) of Slayton, Minnesota; and Joe of Truman, Minnesota.
He was preceded in death by his wife LaVonne, his parents, four brothers, Ervin, Mathais, Walter, and Albert Metz; one sister, Mary (Conway) Metz; sisters-in-law Donna (Loosbrok) Metz; Pat (Beach) Metz; Deloris (Molitor) Metz; Monta (McConnell) Metz; and brothers-in-law William Buck Molitor, Frank Vos, Robert Stevens, and Dave Wagner.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 16 at the American Lutheran Church, Windom, MN at 11:30 a.m. Interment to follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery, Windom, MN.
