Jo Metzger passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on August 4, 2023. She was born Maxine Joan Kurtz on October 23, 1930 in Lafayette, Indiana, where she was raised. After graduating from Jefferson High School, she married Dick Metzger. Jo and Dick were married for 63 years until his passing, and they had three sons, Michael, Mark, and Matthew.
Jo began her working life in Lafayette at the General Telephone Company, but she soon had to leave that job to make room for her husband there due to a nepotism policy. She was a skilled secretary (now called administrative assistant), and worked at several companies throughout the years. After children entered her life, Jo’s role as a mother always took precedence over her work life. Her first born son, Michael was born in Lafayette, Indiana.
Following her husband’s career, they moved to Elkhart, Indiana, where their second son, Mark was born. The pursuit of her husband’s advancing career soon took the family to Rye, New York, where their third son, Matthew, was born. While in Rye, Jo was the administrative assistant for Steffi Nossen at that renowned school of dance. The family lived in Rye, NY until retirement.
Upon retirement, Jo, Dick and Matthew (then just 18 years old) moved to Marco Island, Florida. They moved into a house designed by Dick, and Jo lived in that house the rest of her life.
Along with her three sons, Jo was grandmother to three grandsons, Phil, Brian, and Andrew, and great grandmother to two children, Oliver and Morgan.
A funeral mass will be held at San Marco, Catholic Church in Marco Island, Florida, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at 10:30 AM .
There will not be a visitation.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Ave Maria University.
