Obituary of Rodney Metzger

Rodney Craig Metzger passed away Saturday, November 23, 2019, in Eugene, from kidney and respiratory failure, complications from 58 years as a quadriplegic. He was 76 years old. He was born April 6, 1943 in Richardton, ND to Edwin A. and Meta (Fuchs) Metzger. When Rod was 5 years old the family moved to Missoula, MT. On March 3, 1961, at 17, he broke his cervical vertebrae in a gymnastics accident that left him paralyzed. He graduated from Hellgate High School in Missoula. He earned a Masters degree from the University of Montana, where he fought the administration to make the campus more accessible, long before the advent of ADA. He began teaching Sociology while writing his dissertation. In 1965 he joined 49 other disabled young people, one selected from each state, on a month-long trip to Denmark. The trip was sponsored by DIADEM, to exchange ideas with Danish counterparts about how to break down physical and cultural barriers, making the lives of people with disabilities more livable and productive. This was important to Rod throughout his life. In 1968, the family moved to Eugene and Rod began teaching Sociology at LCC until his full retirement in 2013. During his 45-year teaching and counseling career, he touched and inspired the lives of not only thousands of students but countless other community members with the courageous way he lived his life. Rod was active in his church, served on Eugene Rodeo Committee, Eugene Airshow Committee and as Commissioner of AYSO. He also enjoyed camping and water-skiing, never letting anything hold him back. Rod married Annie Christensen of Eugene, in 1973. He is survived by their son Brady, a teacher at Kennedy Middle School; their daughter-in-law Julie; and grandsons Owen and Wesley Metzger, all of Eugene. Also surviving him are his sisters Iris (Metzger) Cantamessa of Wallace, ID and Karen (Metzger) Messmore of Tucson, AZ, and many nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, February 1,2020 at Santa Clara Church, 175 Santa Clara Ave. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation would be appreciated.