CATHERINE TREECE METZGER

1985 - 2022

METZGER, Catherine Treece Age 37, of Fayetteville, NC, died peacefully on June 10, surrounded by family at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC. Her death followed a nine-month hospitalization from HELLP Syndrome, a pregnancy complication, after the birth of her daughter, Catherine Margaret (Maggie) Metzger-Blough, at 26 weeks, on September 21, 2021. Catherine was born in Seoul, Korea, on March 9, 1985, adopted by Keene and Margaret Metzger, and raised in Cambridge, MA. She graduated from Brookline High School, where her mother taught English, attended Tilton Academy, and graduated from New England College. Catherine was a natural athlete who most loved ice hockey and was a Boston Globe All-Scholastic. She was quiet but had a wonderful, playful, and incisive sense of humor. Acutely observant of her surroundings, she loved to comment. She loved a good steak; Cincinnati Chili; diner breakfasts; holidays, especially Christmas with family; and celebrating the anniversary of her 1986 arrival to her forever family. Catherine had a soft spot for rescue animals, at one point housing nine cats and three dogs. In 2013, Catherine joined the U.S. Army and served her country honorably for over six years at NATO Headquarters in Belgium and at JBER in Anchorage, AK. She received multiple commendations, and earned the difficult Arctic Patch. In Alaska, she met soldier, Clayton Blough, whom she married in 2018 and joined in Fayetteville following her discharge. Catherine also connected through her passion for gaming, volunteering for Stack Up, an organization supporting the mental health of active-duty military and veterans through gaming and related programs. In the gaming world she was known for her humor, competitiveness, and trash talk! Catherine's 263-day hospitalization was a roller coaster of medical crises and reversals. Throughout, Catherine made a determined, courageous, and spirited fight to heal; she remained patient, resilient, gracious, kind, and optimistic. No matter the stress of treatments, she never complained. She was buoyed by family visits, especially from Maggie and Clayton. She wanted above all to see Maggie's first steps and return home to her life as a new mother. In the end, her body could not keep up with her magnificent spirit. Catherine's mother predeceased her in 2013. Catherine is survived by her loving and beloved husband, Clayton; and daughter, Maggie, of Fayetteville; her father, Keene Metzger of Cambridge, MA; her brother, Tell (Bonnie Campbell) Metzger of Brooklyn, NY; her stepmothers Nancy Moorehead of Cambridge, MA, and Barbara Kleeman of Arlington, MA; her mother-in-law, Cheri (Barry) Voss of Texas and Moyock, NC; her aunt, Donna Treece of Chestnut Hill, MA; her cousin, Irene Jacobson of Somerville, MA; and her sister-in-law, Caitlin Blough of Portsmouth, VA, all of whom accompanied Catherine on her hospital journey. In addition, she loved and was loved by a large extended family. A Celebration of Catherine's Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 29, at Old Cambridge Baptist Church, 1151 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. The family suggests donations in her memory to the Preeclampsia Foundation at Preeclampsia.org or to Stackup.org