John Stephen Metz

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of John Stephen Metz, 82, beloved father of Lee Christine Metz, on Saturday February 28th, 2026 at Doctors Hospital Coral Gables, Florida. Having survived pancreatic and lymphoma cancer, John, a former resident of Atlanta, Georgia who wintered in Florida, courageously spent the last five years of his life battling Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Born April 20th, 1943 in Paducah, Kentucky to Earline Mathis Metz, 'Johnny' to his mother and family, was a talented scholar athlete who went on to play college football at the University of Mississippi where the nationally ranked team played in the Cotton Bowl, two Sugar Bowls, and Liberty Bowl while he was there. John completed his B.S.(65) and M.S.(66) in Mathematics and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After fulfilling his duty as an Army Reservist in Field Artillery at Fort Sill in Lawton, OK during the Vietnam War, John attended graduate school at Stanford Business School in Palo Alto, California, where he earned a Master of Business Administration in 1970. After Stanford, John began his career in product marketing and management at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, GA. Soon after, he transitioned to the healthcare sector, joining McKesson (medical supplies) then Becton Dickinson (diagnostics) where he was based in New Jersey. It was in Montclair NJ where his daughter, Lee, and younger son, Stephen (d. 2004), were born. The family relocated to Atlanta in 1982 when John joined the management team of Fortune 200 global consumer products company Kimberly-Clark Corporation where he ultimately became President of the company's Professional Healthcare division, which he ran for approximately 20 years. Following KC, John joined Bio-Plexus, a portfolio company of Appaloosa Management in Hartford CT, as CEO for 2 years before wrapping up his successful career in healthcare as a strategy consultant. Throughout his life, John was very enthusiastic about sports, having many hobbies outside of his career, and enjoyed skiing, tennis, travel abroad, scotch and wine collecting, music and opera and most passionately, polo, which he became involved with in his 40s at the Atlanta Polo Club. As a younger man, his earlier hobbies included weightlifting, riding motorbikes, golf, playing the guitar, painting and 'goofing off'. A devoted father, John supported his children's athletic and educational pursuits wholeheartedly, and enjoyed the family's annual ski trips to Colorado and Montana in the winter and summers in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. After retirement, John was able to fully pursue his love of travel and polo year-round and traveled to play in leagues and tournaments in polo communities in Wellington FL, Aiken SC, Jackson Hole WY, New York, California, Argentina and England. His polo team, "Main Man", was named in honor of his son, Steve. When not playing polo, John enjoyed hiking, yoga (earning his yoga teacher certification at the age of 80), pilates and fitness, as well as healthy cooking. He cherished his time with his beloved daughter and enjoyed many decades of father-daughter dinners and evenings at the opera with her. He was also active with his alumni associations and enjoyed participating in his Stanford Business School Class of 1970 reunions as well as Ole Miss Homecoming weekends. John was an active member of Saint James United Methodist Church in Atlanta for 40 years and attended Sunday School there every Sunday he was in town. John is survived by his daughter, Lee Metz of Miami, and his half siblings John Salvi, Marica Freihof, Sheila Masi. A memorial service to honor John's life will be held at St James Church on Saturday, April 18th at 11am. In lieu of flowers, donations in the name of John Metz can be made to the Alzheimer's Association or Cure Alzheimer's Fund.