Esther Groper Metzner

1919 - 2016

December 3, 1919 - July 21, 2016 Beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Esther Groper Metzner died peacefully of natural causes on July 21, 2016 at her home in Beverly Hills. She was 96 years old. Esther was born on December 3, 1919 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her parents Sam and Sarah Groper met in Canada after emigrating separately from Eastern Europe. The family moved to Los Angeles when Esther was 3. After her sisters Thelma (Temmie) and Irene (Babe) arrived, her father decided to improve the family's situation by learning new skills. By the time Esther graduated Roosevelt High School with high marks, her father, with little formal education, was learning to design and create apartment buildings. Esther inherited a strong social consciousness from both her parents and became active in liberal political activities. That was how she met Bob Metzner, an electrical engineer and entrepreneur who shared her deep concern for improving the state of the world. They were married on March 10, 1940 and lived happily together until Bob died on December 21, 2014. During those treasured years, they built and sold successful businesses together, traveled extensively, collected and created art, sailed and entertained on their boats at the Del Rey Yacht Club and made their Beverly Hills home a beautiful place for friends and family to enjoy. Esther was an early feminist who didn't hesitate to speak up on behalf of women's issues. She was an officer in organizations like Women for Legislative Action, and encouraged her family to be as active and philanthropic as she was. After Bob's death Esther continued to gather her family around her at holidays to sing and talk about everyone's hopes and dreams for better lives and a better world. She is survived by her two children: Richard Metzner (Judy Davenport) and Carolee Goldberg (Ed Goldberg); her four grandchildren: Jeffrey Metzner (Elise DiCarlo), David Metzner (Ariane Metzner), Jamie Goldberg and Kate Hemphill (Charles Hemphill); and nine great-grandchildren. The family will be holding a private memorial service and asks that in lieu of flowers contributions in Esther's honor be sent to hillaryclinton.com.