Arnold Lee Metzger was born July 26, 1926 in Wyman, Iowa to Joseph H. and Ellen C. Metzger. He passed away peacefully March 14, 2019 in Oklahoma City. We celebrate his life today as he has entered the gates of heaven to join his wife, Delores "DJ" and their son, Michael. Arnold met Delores Rauh in Enid, Oklahoma where he was stationed at Vance Air Force Base. They were married on January 26, 1949. To this union on February 19, 1951, their son, Michael Ray was born. Arnold served his country for 42 years, first in the United States Air Force and then in the civil service. His duties were Flight Chief and Maintenance Manager, overseeing the maintenance of a variety of fighter bombers including the F-84-F, F86F, and F100 type aircraft. He was stationed in Berlin, Korea, Italy, and several Air Force bases in the United States. He also served at the Elmendorf Air Force Base as an accountant involved in financial statements and investments, audits of operations and inventory, budgets and recommendations for efficiency. In 1963, he was assigned to the Alaska Air Command at Elmendorf Air Force Base. There, he attended night school at the University of Alaska. In 1967, he earned his BBA in Administration and in 1968 he earned his BBA in Accounting. In 1989, he retired and returned to Yukon, Oklahoma where he and Delores enjoyed retirement. Arnold and Delores created the Dr. Michael Metzger Endowed Scholarship in Economics, the Dr. Michael Metzger Endowed Scholarship in Math, and the Dr. Michael Metzger Memorial Endowed Chair in memory of their son at the University of Central Oklahoma where Michael was the Economics Department Chairman. Arnold was preceded in death by his wife, Delores; his son, Michael; his parents; one sister, Naomi; and two brothers, John and Marion. He is survived by many nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousins, friends, and special caregiver for the last seven years, Ilene Lewis. Viewing will be Wednesday, 9am-8pm at Mercer-Adams. Services will be Friday, 10:00am at Mercer-Adams Chapel with a graveside service at 3pm in Roselawn Cemetery, Okeene, OK. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dr. Michael Metzger Memorial Endowment Scholarship; memo: Math Scholarship. Arnold wrote the following autobiography: "In June 1945, I loaded my grandparents household goods into a truck and moved it to Santa Ana, California so they could live near their son. I stayed there and attended Santa Ana Jr. College the 1945-46 school year. In August 1946, I enlisted in the Army Air Corp and was first stationed at Barksdale, LA and in 1947 I was assigned to Vance A.F. Base in Okla. From there I was immediately sent TDY to the Berlin Airlift for 10 months to work on Cargo planes hauling coal to Berlin. I returned to Vance A.F.B. in early 1949 and went to work on the first jet aircraft. In Enid, Okla. I met my wife and was married to her on 26 January 1950. On February 19, 1951 our boy Michael was born. In 1953 I was sent to Korea where I was flight chief on F84-F fighter bombers. In 1954, I transferred to Alexandria, LA where I worked as Chief of a major maintenance crew for F86F & F100 aircraft. Our wing maintained a squadron of planes in Avano, Italy on 3-minute atomic bomb alert for targets in Russia. Our 4 squadrons alternated going to Italy for 6-month TDY tours. In 1956 I transferred back to Vance A.F. Base and worked as Flight Chief on jet trainer aircraft. Then in 1961, I went to Lowry A.F. Base, Colorado where I was Chief of Field Maintenance with my crews doing major maintenance on several type aircraft. In 1963 I was assigned to the Alaska Air Command at Elmendorf A.F. Base to work as their aircraft maintenance management monitor and on the Command Inspector General Inspection team. I attended classes at night at the University of Alaska and in 1967 got a B.B.A in administration and in 1968, got a B.B.A. in accounting. I retired from the Air Force September 1967 and started work for the Army Corps of Engineers as their Manpower Control Officer at the Alaska District. In 1970, I took a job as the accountant for non-appropriated funds at Elmendorf A.F. Base. This involved such things as a 600-man payroll, financial statements, investments, insurance, cash counts, audits of operations and inventory, statement analysis, budgets and recommendations for efficiency. In 1975, I returned to the Alaska District and to my old job as Manpower Control Officer. Then in 1980, I took a job as Chief of the Management and Manpower branch. I worked in this job until I retired in 1989 and moved to Oklahoma City. In July 1989, we started building our retirement home in a development which had lots around a 15-acre lake. The lake is stocked with fish and has several species of ducks on it which we take great pleasure in feeding. My wife Delores worked in the accounting field, spending most of her time with the Federal Aviation Agency. She retired in 1991 as a systems accountant after 33 years in civil service. She also worked some as an Accountant Consultant for the Department of Transportation. Our son Michael got a technical mathematics degree and a masters in Economics from the University of Oklahoma. He attended Stanford University 4 years and got his doctorate in Economics. He then went to Washington D.C. for over 15 years where the action is for economists. He taught at George Washington University. He then went to work for the Federal Trade Commission doing impact studies on corporation mergers. His next stop was the Federal Communications Commission where he worked on regulatory policy for cable television. He then moved to Oklahoma City and served as the Economic Department Chairman at UCO until his death in 2005." Funeral Service Mercer-Adams Chapel Friday, March 22, 2019 10:00 AM 3925 N. Asbury Bethany, OK 73008 Burial will be at 3:00pm in Roselawn Cemetery, Okeene, OK