Patricia A. Metsch lived nearly 90 years with a quick wit, unwavering faith and an appreciation for life’s simple pleasures, leaving behind a legacy defined by devotion to family, lifelong friendships and an ability to find humor even in her final days.
Metsch, known to family and friends as Pat, died July 14 following a battle with cancer. She was 89.
Cancer may have claimed her life, but it never diminished her outlook.
Earlier this year, while scheduling a dentist appointment six months in advance, she joked with the receptionist, “You’ll be here. I don’t know if I will.”
Just days before her death, while hospitalized, she asked her son to bring her a hot fudge sundae the following day.
“Everything on it,” she said. “Even nuts.”
When reminded that nuts were off limits because of her health, she laughed and replied, “Look at me. Why not?”
That sense of humor remained one of the many qualities her family cherished.
Born Sept. 5, 1936, in Chicago to Hank and Louise Kricek, Metsch was the oldest of three children. She spent her childhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side before her family moved to Lyons in 1949. She graduated from St. Hugh Grammar School and Morton High School in Cicero in 1954.
It was at a picnic in Lyons in September 1953 that she met the love of her life, George Metsch. The couple married three years later at St. Hugh Catholic Church and celebrated nearly 69 years of marriage together.
After first living with relatives in Chicago, they purchased a bungalow in Lyons in 1961, where they raised their two children while George built a career with the Riverside Police Department, serving as both an officer and later a sergeant.
When retirement came in the early 1990s, the couple relocated to Clearwater, Florida, enjoying long walks along the beach. But family soon drew them back home.
As their grandchildren multiplied from two to six within a few years, the couple returned to Illinois to be closer to those they loved. After several years in Lombard, they settled in Darien, where they lived for two decades before moving to Sunrise of Willowbrook earlier this year, quickly making new friends.
Before becoming a full-time mother, Metsch worked as a secretary for Prudential and later at Sears’ corporate headquarters in Chicago, where she and George formed friendships that lasted a lifetime. She later worked at Lyons Savings & Loan.
Her greatest joy, however, was spending time with family.
A woman of deep Catholic faith, Metsch treasured staying connected with relatives and longtime friends through regular phone calls and handwritten Christmas cards, maintaining relationships that spanned decades.
She also embraced life’s adventures.
Over the years, she and George enjoyed several cruises and traveled to destinations that included Las Vegas, London and Hawaii. Thursday night bingo at St. Hugh Church became a favorite tradition, as did evenings spent playing cards with friends while sipping apricot stone sours.
She never missed an episode of Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” throughout his three-decade run.
A lifelong sports fan, Metsch grew up cheering for the Chicago Cubs after her father frequently took her to Wrigley Field. Outfielder Andy Pafko was her favorite player, and she celebrated when the Cubs finally won the World Series in 2016.
Marriage eventually converted her into a White Sox fan. During the 2005 World Series, she famously brought a broom to her son’s house before Game 4, anticipating a Chicago sweep of the Houston Astros. She was right.
She also cheered loudly for the Bears during the Walter Payton era and proudly wore a Jim McMahon sweatshirt throughout the team’s Super Bowl championship season.
Music also became one of her passions. At age 53, she attended her first rock concert to see Paul McCartney in 1989 and later saw Cher perform. Yet Elvis Presley remained her favorite entertainer, even though she never had the chance to see him in person. She loved both his music and his movies.
Family members also remember the smaller moments that made Metsch uniquely herself.
In the 1970s, she routinely shared her morning coffee and cream with Cinders, the family’s jet-black cockapoo. She also had a lifelong weakness for chocolate malts, butter pecan ice cream and hot fudge sundaes, no matter the season.
Above all, those who knew her say Metsch’s greatest accomplishments were measured not in awards or accolades but in the relationships she nurtured throughout her life.
She is survived by her husband, George Metsch; her son, Steven (Ruth) Metsch; her daughter, Linda (George) Hovorka; six grandchildren, Kelly Hickey, Kyle Hickey, Craig Metsch, Elizabeth Becker, Natalie Metsch and Jack Becker; her brother, Henry Kricek; her sister, Mary Ballarini; and many extended family members and friends.
Visitation will be held from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. July 23 at Modell Funeral Home, 7710 S. Cass Ave., Darien. A funeral Mass will follow at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Peace Church, 701 Plainfield Road, Darien. Interment will take place at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Metsch’s memory to UChicago Medicine AdventHealth St. Thomas Hospice or a favorite charity.