Longtime Meeker native Evelyn Adeline Metzger was called home on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2015. She was 102 years old.
Mrs. Metzger was born Evelyn Burner to her parents, Effie and Claude Burner, on April 20, 1913, in Lodge Pole, Neb. Effie moved her five children to Meeker from Wyoming in a covered wagon after their father’s death of pneumonia when Evelyn was just 4 years old.
Her mother instilled a strong ethic and determination in her daughter that would last an entire lifetime. She began working at just 7 years old to help her family, milking cows for neighbors during the summer and going to Miller Creek School during the winter. She would eventually take on several jobs to keep an apartment in town and she was graduated from Meeker High School on May 22, 1931.
Miss Burner married Karl William Metzger in 1933. The loving couple never missed a dance, going every Saturday. They built a house here in Meeker, where she lived until her death.
They raised two children together: Bill and Doris were the light of their mother’s life, and she always considered them to be her greatest achievement. When not raising her kids, Evelyn strove to make a difference in the world around her.
She served lunch to school children for 28 years, receiving a certificate of honor from the state when she retired.
As a member of the Fortnightly Club she had a hand in naming Lake Avery and many of Meeker’s streets. A member of the local sewing club for years, Mrs. Metzger was an avid cross stitch enthusiast and invented her own crochet stitch.
She was confirmed in the Episcopal Church on Aug. 1, 1965, and later joined the Methodist Church in 1983. Evelyn didn’t believe in slowing down, continuing to enjoy entertaining company, listening to her son’s music and visiting with her daughter in her evening years.
Husband Karl Metzger and son Bill Metzger preceded her home.
Evelyn Metzger is survived by: her daughter, Doris Lawrence; six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by all.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, at the Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Meeker Fire Department.
