November 16, 1925 - June 12, 2020
Zoe Bertha Metzger, (nee Boucher) of Chilliwack, BC, born on November 16, 1925 in Banff, AB, has willingly gone to her Lord on June 12, 2020.
Zoe's childhood was spent in Banff, Calgary, and Edmonton. It was wartime, and her father served in Nanaimo. She graduated early and attended Normal School. After teaching in a one-room schoolhouse for two years, she married John Metzger of Barrhead, Alberta, in 1945, moved to Burnaby in 1947, and raised five children: Charles (Karen), George, Karen (Jack), Maureen (David), and Ida (Tim).
Creative and resourceful, she contributed much to her family and to the Lutheran church community, and partnered with her husband in support of Vietnamese refugees. She taught Sunday School and later contributed greatly to Bible Study groups. Zoe made a significant contribution to the establishment of Lutheran Women's Missionary League Canada; she was recognized later at the national level for her lifetime contributions to the LWMLC. She founded a Bible study for seniors, Young at Heart, and was loved by many!
Zoe was a lifelong singer and sang joyfully all day long during much of her life, and the family became a family of singers. She faithfully cared for her husband, John, through the course of his slide into dementia and wrote an account of their experiences. Excerpts were included in the Health Care Assistant Curriculum (2015) Supplement, 2nd Edition.
Born to Gwendolyn Vere Boucher (nee Fuller) and Orville Huse Boucher, Zoe was predeceased by husband John and brothers Gerald and Charles. She was very involved with her children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren and was appreciated by them all: Tom, Mark, Donya and Sandy; Tracy, Kari, and Marcy; Chad and Lara; Wendy, John, Paul, and Tena; and Zoe, Erin, Benjamin, and Jesse; and 34 great-grandchildren.
The grandchildren and great-grandchildren all called her "Grammy" as her mother Vere was called. She was gentle and attentive and loved to sing, play, and sew for them, making them feel special. After losing her mobility, a regular parade of progeny, particularly those living nearby, came to visit Grammy in the care homes where she lived. She loved to visit with them!
Because of COVID-19, a public memorial service will be at a future date. The private service and interment will be held for family only on June 24 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and at Vedder View Gardens Cemetery.
We commend the pastoral staff at St. Paul's Lutheran Church for their attentiveness to our mother, and extend heartfelt thanks to her caregivers at Waverly Seniors Village and Bradley Centre for their dedicated and considerate care, especially during the COVID epidemic when family could not visit. We leave you with these thoughts from Zoe's written family history:
Thank you, Lord, for always being there for me when my bobbin is empty. You never fail to lift my spirit with your Spirit. You are so good! Amen.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:19 RSV