METZGER, Wendy Anne

Wendy Anne Peterson Metzger, M.D., 53, of Tempe, Arizona, died on January 25, 2004, after a long and courageous struggle with cancer. She was at home and was surrounded by the love of family and friends, to whom she gave so much. Though her life was too short, she herself said not long before she died, "I've had a good run." Despite her illness, she was able to guide her two beloved daughters into young adulthood, which gave her a great sense of peace in her last days. And she spent many happy days traveling, pursuing her love of history and culture in such places as Iran, Turkey, Tibet, and Mongolia. Wendy was born on May 10, 1950, in Minneapolis, MN. Her formative years were spent in such places as Glendive, MT; Casper, WY; Salt Lake City UT; Farmington, NM; and Missoula, MT. She attended Sentinel High School in Missoula, but skipped her senior year to attend the University of Chicago, where in 1971 she received her B.A. in Cultural Geography. She enrolled briefly in a Master's program in Geography at the University of California, Davis, but decided to pursue a career in medicine. She graduated from the University of Utah College of Medicine in 1977 and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University in 1980. She was certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1980, and spent the next few years as a doctor in the Indian Health Service in Mescalero and Zuni, New Mexico. She was a primary care Internist at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center in 1982/83 and then at the Student Health Service of the University of Arizona in Tucson. She took a similar position at Arizona State University, Tempe, in 1985. In 1989, she moved to the Thomas-Davis Medical Center in Tempe, and retired in 1995 largely to spend more time with her children. Her 1985 marriage to Robert Metzger ended in divorce in 2001. She is survived by her daughters Anne and Kathryn Metzger; her parents James A. and Gladys M. Peterson; brother James D. Peterson and his wife Betty J. Peterson, and nephews Brian and Daniel Peterson; brother Brian H. Peterson and his wife Helen Mirkil; and her beloved cat Porky. A memorial service was held on Sunday, March 21, 2004, at Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 6400 W. Del Rio Street, Chandler, Arizona. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Phoenix Symphony. Published in the Arizona Republic on 1/27/2004.