DECATUR, ILLINOIS
Warren Metcalf, 94, of Decatur, Illinois, passed away peacefully on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, at his apartment in the Bickford of Greenwood, with family at his bedside.
A memorial service will be at noon Saturday at Dawson and Wikoff West Wood Street Funeral Home, 515 W. Wood St., Decatur, Illinois. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to service time. Warren’s ashes will then be buried next to Judy, his wife of 45 years, at Keller Cemetery, Lovington, Illinois.
Warren was born Sept. 23, 1922, in Moweaqua, Christian County, Illinois, the son of Warren and Alta (Culbertson) Metcalf. He grew up on the family farm outside Bement, Illinois, where he graduated high school in 1940. After high school, he studied industrial arts at Eastern Illinois University.
Warren proudly served in a U.S. Army Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion during World War II in the Pacific Theater. He married Judith Lavonne McKinney on April 16, 1955. He retired from A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. (now Tate & Lyle) after 40 years as a process operator. He was a longtime member of Woodland Chapel Presbyterian Church and more recently attended Bethlehem Presbyterian Church.
For those who knew him, Warren was a beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. He built his first house and many pieces of furniture, kept everything in good repair, and always shared the results of his vegetable and fruit garden. Additionally, he helped to maintain his church, served as a deacon and elder, volunteered with Meals on Wheels, St. Mary’s Hospital and Habitat for Humanity.
He is survived by his daughter and daughter-in-law, Joni Metcalf Kemp of Greenwood and Janet (Herland) Metcalf of Marietta, Georgia; grandchildren, Sam Kemp and wife Kaitlin of Indianapolis, Toby Kemp and fiancée Andrea Schroering of Indianapolis, and Spencer, Cody, and Katelyn Metcalf of Marietta, Georgia.
He is also survived by nieces and nephews, P. Michael Metcalf of Greendale, Deanna (Williams) of Salt Lake City, Utah, Joe Rittenhouse of Bement, Illinois, Steve Rittenhouse of Bement, Illinois, Carolyn Rittenhouse (Jacobs) of White Heath, Illinois, Cynthia Smith Gordon of Boston, Massachusetts, and Douglas R. Smith of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
He was preceded in death by his wife; his parents; his brothers and sisters, Paul, Clara Eloise, Erval and Phyllis (Rittenhouse); his son, Warren; and his son-in-law, James Kemp.
Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.dawson-wikoff.com.
Memorials will help the missions of Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, 4135 Mount Auburn Road, Decatur, IL 62521-9318.
