1934 – 2018
Daniel Robert Metzger (84) passed away June 4, 2018 at home with his family by his side in Scottsdale, AZ. He had a long courageous battle with the disease Lewy Body Dementia. Dan was born February 10, 1934 in McLaughlin, SD. He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Beverly Lane Metzger of Scottsdale, AZ and two children: Danna Jean Metzger Riordan (James David Riordan) of Carefree, AZ and Bradley Lane Metzger (Dana Lynn Puffer Metzger) of Park Ridge, IL; sister, Jane Dee Metzger of Coram, NY; sister-in-law, Jean Meredith Lane Smith of Eagle, ID; and, four grandchildren; Meredith Jean Riordan Stephens (James Patrick Stephens), Daniel Lane Riordan, Chase Reed Metzger, Ciena Lane Metzger. His parents, Daniel Metzger and Pearl DeOtte Metzger, and brother, Franklin Alfred Metzger, predeceased Dan.
Funeral arrangements made by the Wickenburg Funeral Home, with a private interment held at the Wickenburg Cemetery, Wickenburg, Arizona. Website: www.wickenburgfuneralhome.com/Obituaries. Donations, in memory of Dan, may be sent to the charity of your choice.
In the 1930s Dan’s parents were forced to leave McLaughlin because of the drought and the grasshopper plague that devastated farmers’ crops. The family eventually settled in Denver where Dan attended Park Hill Elementary School, Smiley Junior High, East High School and the University of Denver with a B.S. degree in Business Administration.
During the Korean War, Dan enlisted in the US Army. He was stationed at the US Army post, Fort Ord, CA and the Great Lakes Navel Station at Fort Sheridan, IL. He returned to Denver in 1955 where he met Beverly on a blind date.
After graduation from college Dan and Beverly were married in 1957 at the Ladue Chapel, Ladue, MO and moved to LaGrange, IL where they lived for 40 years. Dan formed his company, D.R. Metzger, Inc., a steel supplier to the mining industry. He was a Trustee and Secretary of the LaGrange Federal Savings & Loan; was the West Suburban Chamber of Commerce Citizen-of-the-Year; a Trustee for the village of LaGrange; a member of the Board of Directors of The Community Family Service and Mental Health Association and the LaGrange Memorial Health System, Inc.; past President of the LaGrange Country Club and a member for many years; a sports enthusiast with a particular fondness for golf, racquetball and horses.
The annual Desert Caballeros (DC) horseback ride, out-Wickenburg-way, was an event Dan looked forward to every year, riding the 100-mile 5-day trek with his father-in-law, Alfred ‘Naughton’ Lane.
Dan retired in 1995 to Scottsdale, AZ where Dan and Bev designed and built their home in the golf community of Desert Mountain.
“Blessed is the Life given to us and blessed is the Eternal Life we are given.” blm
