F. Ross Metzger

Ross Metzger, 95, passed on June 7th, 2025.
Ross was born to Benedict and Daisy Metzger March 2nd, 1930, in Mt Carmel, North Dakota.
Preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Leta, he is survived by two sons Joseph (Kathryn) and Robert (Laura) and granddaughters Anna (Anthony Obinger) and Emily Valstad (Zach). He is also survived by brothers Jack and Joe, and numerous relatives and friends.
He grew up on a farm during the depression with his brothers and attended a one room school. He carried many lessons learned from that period with him through life. His strong faith, imparted by his parents and Father Lampre, served him throughout life.
Graduating high school in Walhalla North Dakota as class salutatorian in 1947, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1951 to serve 37 months of a four-year enlistment aboard the heavy cruiser USS Toledo serving 17 months in combat in the Korean Combat Zone. He made friends there that he remembered throughout his life. He was proud to advance to Petty Officer First Class E6 during his four years of service.
He then entered the University of North Dakota on the GI Bill and graduated Summa Cum Laude as Valedictorian with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Later in life he expressed appreciation that his parent's sacrifices allowed he and his brothers to complete high school. The education they all received on the GI Bill after serving played a large role in their later successes.
After a year with the Army Corps of Engineers he joined Remington Rand Univac later to become Sperry Univac. There he rose through the ranks as Supervising Engineer, Engineering Manager, Group Manager, and 11 years as Engineering Director. His group was responsible for hardware design of two generations of mainframe computer hardware and the development of systems hardware.
After his retirement from Sperry and a short period of boredom, he rejoined the Army Corps of Engineers to assist in planning, scheduling, and budgeting processes. One of his tasks there was upgrading Lock and Dam 2 at Hastings. While there he was proud to receive the US Army Civilian medal and commendation for his service.
During his second retirement, he explored interests in Ballistics Programming and Family Genealogy. He applied his engineering training to write programs regarding the trajectory of both rifle bullets and round shot and provided data to magazine writers, hunters, and hobbyists. One of his associates during this time was long time neighbor, friend, and sportsman/writer Loyal Brezny.
Ross enjoyed an active interest in firearms, hunting, and fishing throughout his life. He especially enjoyed rough grouse hunting with a small group of coworkers and friends for more than forty years.
He was open minded but fiscally conservative. While he often disagreed with those espousing socialism or liberalism, he enjoyed talking with anyone on all subjects and was interested in history of all sorts.
He enjoyed the company of the exercise/coffee group and church group friends over a period of years and appreciated his kind neighbors. He donated more than 22 gallons of Type O blood before he was told he had given enough. In one of his last experiences with the medical establishment, he told them he "would like to get a pint back".
Funeral services Wednesday June 11th: Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church
835 2nd Avenue NW
New Brighton, MN. 55112
651-633-8333
Visitation: 10:00 AM
Funeral 11:00 AM
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Saint John the Baptist at the above address.
The funeral will be livestreamed via links on the Washburn-Mcreavy website. It may also be possible to view the livestream via the St Johns website: https://stjohnnb.com/ www.Washburn-McReavy.com
New Brighton Chapel 651-636-9821