Obituary of Tom Metzger

Thomas Gerald Metzger (Tom) loved his family, friends, and the community he lived in. He always put his family first, and diligently worked to provide for his family through a forty plus year career in defense and aerospace, as a Manager and a Director. As a member of the Knights of Columbus, Tom regularly volunteered in his church community throughout his life. One of his favorite ways to give back was through donating blood every year to support people in need. This beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend passed away on September 10, 2023, surrounded by family, in Tucson, Arizona. Tom is survived by his wife Maritza and his daughters Jennifer, Juliette and Katherine, and his sons Timothy and Michael, along with his sister Donna and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Tom began his life in Rochester, New York, born on July 18, 1939, to Gerald and Pearl Rita Metzger, one of two children. The family moved to Compton, California, when Tom was a small child, where he attended and graduated from Pius X Catholic High School in 1957. Tom completed a bachelor’s degree at California State University Fullerton and a master’s degree at West Coast University. In 1971, Tom married Maritza Wilhelmi in Santa Ana, California. Their fifty-two-year marriage was one filled with love and adventure. Tom was a respected and a loving father to his five children, always leading by example and filling their lives with laughter and joy. Tom started his career at Autonetics, a division of North American Rockwell in Anaheim, California, where he worked in assembly. He then worked at General Dynamics in Pomona, California, for several years as a Marketing Director, until 1993, when he was transferred to Raytheon, based in Tucson, Arizona, where he continued his successful career in procurement until retirement at the age of sixty-seven. In Tucson, Tom attended St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, where he joined the Knights of Columbus, donating countless hours to helping the underprivileged in his community. He held leadership positions in the Council and Assembly and was proud of the charitable work they accomplished for the community.

Tom’s Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Father Ken Wolfe at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Tucson, Arizona, on September 28, 2023, at 10am, followed immediately by a celebration of life at the Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Cancer Society