Gisela Metzner

1922 - 2014

Metzner, Gisela
Gisela (Schenke) Metzner, of Sherwood Oaks, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, died on June 15, 2014. She was born to Felix and Johanna Schenke, the youngest of four children, on December 25, 1922 in Niedergorpe, a rural farming region in Silesia, (a former province of Germany, now a part of Poland). World War II had a profound impact on the family. Gisela's brother, Siegfried, was killed early on in the war. They had to give up their home in Silesia as it became part of Poland and under Russian control. Many family members including Gisela became refugees. She met her future husband, Heinz, during the war; while Heinz was able to make his way to West Germany in 1945, Gisela remained in East Germany. She was eventually able to escape with the assistance of some of Heinz's war time colleagues. Gisela and Heinz married in 1946 and settled in Dinkelsbuehl, Bavaria, near where Heinz worked as an instructor for the U.S. Army Signal School in Ansbach. It was at this time that the young couple started their family; three of their five children were born in Germany. Gisela and Heinz dreamed of immigrating to the United States. In June 1956, the family arrived in the United States under the sponsorship of the First Baptist Church of Holden, Massachusetts, with few possessions but with gratitude and much hope for the future. They eventually settled in Trumbull, Connecticut, in 1961 and all became proud citizens of the United States that same year. Gisela worked in the mortgage department of People's Bank for many years, retiring in 1987. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, she was thrilled to be able to visit cousins and childhood friends who had previously remained locked and out of reach in East Germany. In 2003, Gisela moved to Sherwood Oaks, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2006, she and her children celebrated their 50 year immigration anniversary with the church that so lovingly sponsored and helped them start a new life in this country. Gisela was predeceased by her husband, Heinz, her two brothers and her sister. She is survived by three daughters, Jessyka (Metzner) Glatz and husband Gregory, Claudia (Metzner) Broman and husband Glenn, Cornelia Metzner and husband Richard Johnson, and by two sons, Claus and wife Janice, Peter and wife Elizabeth and four grandchildren, Chris and Luke Glatz and Sophie (Metzner) Seals and husband Devin, and Samantha Metzner. She is also survived by nieces, nephews and cousins in Germany A service in celebration of her life will be held at Sherwood Oaks on Monday, Jun 23, 2014, at 3:00 P.M. Glenn-Kildoo Funeral Home of Cranberry Township is in charge of the arrangements. Memorial Donations may be made to the Sherwood Oaks Subsidy Fund, Sherwood Oaks, 100 Norman Drive, Cranberry Township, PA, 16066 or to a charity of the donor's choice.