William Wesley Metzger

William Wesley Metzger, 84 of Wyomissing, passed away April 14, 2014 in The Reading Hospital and Medical Center

He was the husband of Jean (Hill) Metzger, whom he married 60 years ago on July 11, 1953.

Born November 25, 1929 in Philadelphia, he was a son of the late John and Gladys (Boyd) Metzger.

He was a 1947 graduate of Yeadon High School and earned degrees at West Chester University, BS Education, 1951, University of Delaware, MS Education, 1956; and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, undergraduate, 1958 and MS in engineering, 1960

William was a mechanical engineer for over 40 years, first working at Hamilton Standard a division of United Aircraft in Windsor Locks, Connecticut from 1956 until 1972. He designed the ladder and life support equipment for the first lunar landing in 1969. In 1972 he joined the RCA Astro Electronics Division near Princeton, NJ where he contributed to building spacecraft to perform various missions from earth orbit, navigation of Navy ships, world wide communication earth weather observations from space geo positioning for earth navigation. During his career, RCA became GE, then the Martin Corp, which merged with Lockheed to become Lockheed Martin Corp. During that time he managed a group of engineers and technicians performing mechanical design testing and analysis. He retired in 1995 saying that his proudest accomplishment was recruiting engineers and providing an environment in which they could excel. He was recruited by Princeton University to design their first Aerospace Engineering course and was a visiting lecturer for seven years.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Marilyn, wife of Jack Ribeiro, Wyomissing, and Joan Stark, Newtown. Also surviving are his five grandchildren; Nicholas C Ribeiro, Reading, Jaclyn Miller, Jacksonville, FL; Lindsey Soufleris, Heathrow, FL; Lisa Stark, Newtown; and David Stark, Newtown; and five great grandchildren; Tatum Kelly Ribeiro, Reading; Taylor Kate Soufleris, Heathrow, FL; Jack Adam Soufleris, Heathrow, FL, Myla Grace Ribeiro, Reading; and James Joseph Miller, Jacksonville, FL

William was predeceased by his brother, John Paul Metzger.

Services will be held Thursday, at 11:30 in the Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, inc, 739 Penn Ave, West Reading. A visitation will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 am in the funeral home. Burial will be private in Valley Forge Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association,1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311 or online at www.diabetes.org. Online condolences may be recorded at www.kuhnfuneralhome.com