James Metz Obituary

James (Jim) George Metz passed away on Feb. 5, 2026 after a long journey with prostate cancer. He was 76.

Jim was the youngest of six children born to Harold and Georgeanna (Bockes) Metz of Lincoln, Nebraska. He grew up hunting pheasants, canoeing rivers, and developing a love for the outdoors that he carried throughout this life.

Jim earned a degree in botany from the University of Nebraska in 1971, then followed his sister Janet west where he stayed for 5 years. He worked as a laborer in an aircraft parts factory, took an unenthusiastic first step toward graduate school in Los Angeles, then managed the biology department stock room at Occidental College, a job that allowed him time to explore the Sierra Nevada mountains with the UCLA Sierra Club.

In 1976, Jim returned to graduate school, this time at Oregon State University studying the biochemistry of photosynthesis. He excelled in the lab and classroom and developed a life-long passion for technical rock climbing.

Jim earned his Ph.D. in 1980 and began post-doctoral work at the University of Missouri where he met his future wife, Deborah Hoxworth, through a local running club. Academic pursuits carried Jim and Deborah to separate locations; Jim doing post-doctoral work in Golden, Colorado and Wilmington, Delaware. Deborah finishing her master's degree in Columbia, Missouri. Nonetheless, their commitment to each other never wavered. They married in 1989, and moved to Davis, California where their daughter, Amelia, was born in 1992.

In 2000, the family settled in Longmont, Colorado. Deborah guided the family through life's twists and turns as Jim pursued his science at work.

While Jim's science focused on the smallest components of life - genes and molecular biology - he loved nature and the world on a grand scale. He devoted his career to basic research in lipid biosynthesis, including finding omega-3 fatty acid pathways in algae, and found time to climb the Big Walls of Yosemite Valley, the desert spires of Utah, and sea stacks off the coast of Scotland. He spent countless afternoons on the crags of Colorado's Front Range and continued to rope up well into his long journey with cancer. He and Deborah provided an everlasting supply of love, guidance, and encouragement to Amelia who is a perpetual source of pride.

Jim was unfailingly humble and kind, always able to use his dry sense of humor to make others laugh, and treated everyone with dignity and respect. He pursued problems, whether in the lab, the mountains, or elsewhere, with good-humored tenacity.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Georgeanna (Bockes) Metz; and his sisters, Nancy Metz, Janet (Paul) Benedetti, and Annette Metz. He is survived by his wife, Deborah (Hoxworth); daughter, Amelia Metz; and his brothers, Harold (Nancy) Metz, and Richard (Suzan) Metz.

Jim Metz believed that family came first, friendship was precious, and there always was a reason to smile.

A celebration of Jim's life will be held at a future date.