William Raymond Metzner Sr.

Bill Metzner, Sr., 85, a longtime Wheeling attorney, passed away June 3, 2025, at home, embraced by his children.
Born November 6, 1939, to Robert Brakmann Metzner and Clara Gertrude (Baumann) Metzner, he was the youngest of three. His parents and siblings Sara Jane Guentz and Robert Joseph Metzner, both of California, preceded him in death, as well as his ex-wife and friend Sydney Metzner of Wheeling.
Surviving are his daughter, Janet Lynn Metzner, of the home, and his son William Raymond Metzner, Jr., of Wheeling; his grandson Samuel Joseph Metzner of Wheeling; his eldest grandson Justin Paul Michael Messenger and Emily Marie (Bruxvoort) Messenger, Justin's wife, of Maineville, Ohio; and Bill's three young, great-grandchildren Adeline, Olivia and Everly Messenger of Maineville. Also surviving are his nephews Charles Guentz (Tara) of Clovis, Calif., and Steve Guentz, of Long Beach, Calif.; and several cousins, including Arthur Hogan (Anna) of Warrenton, Va., and Sean Hogan (Michelle), of Harvard, Mass.
Bill was a member of the Class of 1957 at Triadelphia High School, where he played basketball, his lifelong sport.
He enjoyed visiting with classmates at their reunions, including at their 65th.
In 1962, Bill earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a major in accounting from the University of Cincinnati, where he was a legacy member of Sigma Nu fraternity, serving as the group's treasurer and financial advisor.
He worked for the College of Business Administration's co-op program, splitting his time between school and moving to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. There he worked in the military base's comptroller's office and in other departments and also learned Evelyn Wood's speed-reading system. He attended International Business Machines (IBM) school in data management.
During his freshman year he was on the Bearcats' basketball team. After a knee injury, he played intramural teams. He was a member of Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity and the professional financial fraternity Beta Alpha Psi.
In 1965, he was awarded a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he served as associate editor and editorial board member of the UC law review.
He earned merit awards for moot court competitions, as leader of Associate Justice Student Court, a prize for scholastic achievement in appellate advocacy, and prizes in contracts law, including The American Jurisprudence Prize for Excellence awarded by a lawyers co-operative publishing company.
He then became licensed to practice law in the state and federal courts in West Virginia. He was also admitted to practice before the Fourth Circuit United States Court of Appeals in 1979, and the United States Supreme Court in 1980. Bill continued to practice for nearly 60 years, through early 2025.
During his career that began in Wheeling law firms, then developed into a partnership, and sole proprietorship, he grew a solid general law practice that included expertise in estates, oil and gas and real estate.
He vowed to help his clients in any one legal matter, or more, that befell them: from criminal to family and civil law matters.
In 2022, he explained his passion for helping clients. He likes the feeling after getting charges dismissed for clients, no matter how small the case "There's no feeling like it," he said, "Especially if they appreciate it."
In 2018 he was honored by the Ohio County Bar Association for being a member for 50-plus years.
Legal Aid of West Virginia's Wheeling office - a group he helped found - honored him in 2022 as Pro-Bono Family Law Attorney of the Year.
He was a member of the West Virginia State Bar, and a former member of the West Virginia Bar Association.
As a boy, he would trek the woods of Howard Hill behind his home, exploring the hills, hollows and streams with friends, including lifelong friend Eric Diefenbach.
His love of the steep hills of home never ended. At age 78, he proudly ventured along a ravine for the final time with his beloved dog companion, Blue. Photos Bill took on that hike were a source of pride that he shared often with loved ones.
He was a longtime newspaper boy, delivering The Intelligencer to homes in Pleasant Valley, Oakmont and Edgwood.
Before he left for college, by 1957, he had raised $6,000 -about $60,000 today-through his entrepreneurial endeavors such as raising chickens, cultivating and selling lilies of the valley from his home to flower shops, mowing the lawn at Howard Mansion, assisting with catering, and more.
As a teen, he began mentoring youth through his job as a youth coordinator at Bridge Street School for the City of Wheeling Recreation Department.
Through his law practice, he said he felt himself "as mentor to youth who sometimes didn't know how to act," and he would advise them.
As a young father, he coached Pony League baseball and YMCA girls softball for his children and consistently practiced batting and throwing with them at home after dinnertime. He was a devoted swim parent for Ohio Valley Y Octopi club.
At about age 78 he helped his son coach his grandson Sam's champion basketball team representing Woodsdale Elementary Schools.
Bill was a member of Fourth Street United Methodist Church, and then Christ United Methodist Church. He was a member of Elks Club, and the Short Circuit Club. As a member of the Young Republicans Club of Ohio County, he served four years as president.
He was legal counsel for the Wheeling Jaycees and enjoyed decades of service as legal counsel to Marshall County Public Service District No. 1.
He's dearly missed by his family and friends. He's also missed by his constant cat companion of 20 years, Sable, and his canine friends Blue and Fuzzy, all of the home.
Visitation will be 4-7 pm Sunday, June 15, at Kepner Funeral Home, 900 National Road, Wheeling (304-232-2732). Then, on Monday, June 16, meet at Greenwood Cemetery at 11 a.m. for Bill's graveside service with The Rev. Jake Steele of CUMC officiating. As an option, meet the family at 10:45 a.m. Monday at the funeral home for procession to the service at Greenwood.