Virginia Elizabeth Kavash Metz, 90, formerly of Hatfield, PA, passed away in peace Nov. 5, 2013 in Manhasset, surrounded by family. She was the wife of the late Stanley Wyatt Metz, of Kulpsville, who passed away in 1999.
Born July 3, 1923 in Norristown, she was the daughter of the late Elizabeth Haitsch and John Joseph Kavash, founder of the Lansdale Symphony Orchestra.
Virginia was the sixth of seven siblings raised on South Broad Street in Lansdale and attended Lansdale High School, where she graduated in 1941. She worked at the Dexdale Hosiery Mill and joined the Volunteer Medical Services Corps which led her to meet her husband, Stanley. Virginia and Stanley were married on September 24, 1949 in Lansdale. With their two daughters, Sharon and Nancy, they lived on South Broad Street in Lansdale. In 1959, they moved to
Derstine Road in Hatfield where they built a house with the help of friends and neighbors.
Virginia worked in the office of the North Penn Water Authority, formerly the Lansdale Municipal Water Company, where she hand-wrote entries in the company ledger in an elegant script. Upon her retirement in 1985, she was recognized for over 30 years of service to the company. Virginia regularly attended the Trinity Lutheran Church and was a member of a sewing circle at the Line Lexington Mennonite Church. She and Stanley maintained a large garden and spent many happy hours freezing, preserving, cooking, and sharing their harvest. She dearly loved all animals, especially the companionship of her beloved pets over the years.
Virginia enjoyed the popular music and hymns of the early 1900s and played the piano at family occasions and danced at every opportunity. Stanley passed away in 1999 after 49 years of marriage, and, shortly thereafter, health complications led Virginia to move in with her daughter, Nancy, and son-in-law, George Lindsay, Jr., in Oyster Bay. After moving to New York, she enjoyed services at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Cold Spring Harbor, attended the Day
Break senior program in Oyster Bay, and continued making frequent trips to see family in Pennsylvania.
Virginia was well known for her wry sense of humor and love of games and was never happier than when surrounded by good food, music, and her family. She will be sorely missed.
Virginia is survived by her brother, Herbert Kavash of North Wales, PA; two daughters, Sharon Metz Fogel of Talent, OR, and Nancy Eileen Metz of Oyster Bay; three grandchildren, Rachel Wyatt Lindsay, Colin Metz Lindsay, and Brian Kavash Lindsay; and nieces and nephews.
Virginia’s family is immensely grateful to the home health aides who enriched her life with their patient and loving care and enabled her to remain with family.
Funeral services were held Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 211 S. Main St., North Wales, PA, with burial in Christ Lutheran Cemetery, Kulpsville. Arrangements are by the Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home, Lansdale.
A memorial service will be held 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013 at St. John’s Church, 1670 Rte. 25A, Cold Spring Harbor.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Southern Oregon Humane Society, 2910 Table Rock Road, Medford OR 97501, Therapy Dogs International, 88 Bartley Road, Flanders, NJ 07836 or the Mennonite Heritage Center (MHEP), 565 Yoder Rd., Harleysville, PA 19438.
