Obituary of David R. Metz

David R. Metz, 70, of East Meadow, NY passed away in his sleep Tuesday, September 4, 2018.  David was born in Gary, IN to Richard Metz and Jean Brand on October 18, 1947.  He grew up in Hobart, IN where he nurtured an insatiable curiosity of any and all things. His imagination combined with that curiosity to lead him into projects of a magnitude few others could imagine until they saw them.  This was about the same time he became interested in photography, built his own dark room in the basement under the stairs and began his visual creativity making black and white prints from 35mm and large format negatives he processed himself, then expanded to developing his own color slide film. From there his interest continued as press photographer for the Hobart Gazette, worked the sales counter at Gary Camera, and worked in a photo lab in Crown Point, IN all while going to high school.  He continued with those 3 jobs while paying for college by working at US Steel’s Gary Works in the summers and on holiday breaks. He attained a bachelors and a masters degree from Purdue University and began his career as a high school English teacher, then taught Communications, Drama and Photography, before joining Canon Cameras in Chicago.  He then moved to Canon’s New York office, where he made his indelible mark on the photo industry for many years.  After retiring from Canon, he started a consulting business, then joined Sigma lenses to continue advancing the art of photography. Dave bartered his way through training to get his pilot’s license by mowing grass around the runways of Lansing Airport during the summer breaks while teaching.  His many interests included planes, trains, and automobiles, as well as science, nature, the theatre, and music of all genres. All the while Dave made sure he helped people, taught people, and nurtured the talents he saw within them, which was probably his greatest interest.

David is predeceased by his parents and his wife, Elizabeth. He is survived by his stepsons Mathew (wife Jill) Beecher and Jeffrey Beecher and his brother Terry (wife Janice) and grandchildren Owen and Cora Beecher, nephew Dallas Metz, niece Kelly Metz