IN MEMORIAM: H. Reed Metzger, 86;
Doctor, Lawyer Had Cooperstown Ties
COOPERSTOWN – H. Reed Metzger, MD, JD, of Santa Monica, Calif., and Cooperstown, beloved husband, father, grandfather, physician and friend, passed away at age 86 on Aug. 7, 2018.
A true survivor, Reed ran out of his nine lives after five heart attacks, a stroke, kidney cancer, and other brushes with death that spanned four decades.
Reed was born on May 7, 1932, in Seagate, Brooklyn, near Coney Island, to Molly and Harry. He attended PS 188, Mark Twain Junior High, and graduated from Lincoln High School.
In spite of his dysgraphia, he studied pre-med at Purdue University, graduating with highest honors in 1953, then received his MD from the SUNY Downstate College of Medicine in 1957.
As a young doctor in the 1960s and ’70s, he set up aid stations at Civil Rights marches in the South. He practiced family medicine in Los Angeles until his retirement in 1992, after which he went to Loyola Law School, graduating cum laud with a JD in 1995.
He put his medical and legal expertise to use testifying as an expert witness at trials and depositions regarding the standard of care for physicians, and also as a mediator (which allowed him to utilize his extensive collection of bow ties).
A peasant who learned to enjoy the finer things in life, Reed was known for his wisdom, intellect, great diagnostic skill, and keen sense of humor. He enjoyed racquet sports, fly fishing, world travel, and a good scotch.
Surviving are his wife and partner of 49 years, Linda Thompson Metzger (also from Brooklyn), sons Marc (Kris) and Gregory (Becky), and granddaughters Jamie and Sarah. Reed also leaves behind a sister, Dorothy (Tim) Fox, and her daughters Laura, Erica and Andrea, and their families. Back East, Reed will be missed by his brother-in-law, Simon (Sally) Weinstein, and nieces Karen (Jeff) Katz and Lori (Andy) Wiley, and adoring grandnephews Nate, Rob and Joey.
Services are planned for Thursday, August 9, 2018 at Hillside Memorial Park, Los Angeles.
Hi Lunda,
Please call or text me. I have come to possess portrait of you and Reed painted by Ann Maupin some time in the 70s or 80s. I can’t be sure. I think you would like to have it, and I’d be happy if you would want it.
Please text or call (leave a message if you call- I don’t answer unknown phone calls) (828)621/1947
Lee Myerhoff.
I meant Hi LINDA, not Lunda.
Hi Linda,
this is Valerie Kaufman Katz. I was looking for you and saw you lost Reed a few years ago. I am sorry for your loss. Not sure where you live but I’d love to see you.
warmest regards,
Valerie
To Reed’s survivors: I’m Michael (Mike) Steven Cullen, and Reed was a cousin. I was born in 1939, not in Sea Gate, but in the Bronx Hospital; our family moved to Sea Gate in 1944 or 1945, around the corner where Reedy and his family – yes, Harry and Molly – lived. Harry was a brother of my mother. Frieda Metzger. Reedy and I lost touch when I came to Germany, where I still live. I had a sister, who was close to Dorothy; my sister Ruby died in 2009; we have a brother, Andy, who lives in Oceanside, N. Y. I see Reedy and I did the same schools: P.S. 188, Mark Twain Jr High and Lincoln H. S. Please feel free to get in touch with me, this site has my email address. Otherwise, google me or check my Wikipedia site, you’ll get me. Michael S. Cullen, Berlin Germany