Sigrid Metzger
Ajijic resident Sigrid Metzger (née Knab) died on August 17 at the age of 83, due to complications following hip replacement surgery.
Sigrid was born on January 30, 1941, in Mainz, Germany. During World War II, she and her three sisters fled north with their mother, Ottilie, to escape the bombings, eventually settling in the seaside town of Haffkrug, near Lübeck on the Baltic Sea. After the war, they were reunited with their father, Dr. Hans Knab. Food was scarce, so the family foraged in the nearby woods, gathering mushrooms, acorns, dandelion leaves, and sorrel. Sigrid had fond memories of the American cheese they received in CARE packages.
The Knab family, all musicians, toured German towns giving musical performances to make ends meet after the war. Sigrid later took up the cello and, in her twenties, studied at the Lübeck Music Academy. However, the trumpet remained her favorite instrument. In her younger years, she spent time in London as an au pair and later worked in Paris as a secretary and foreign correspondent, becoming fluent in both English and French.
On New Year’s Eve 1965, Sigrid met her future husband, Kim Metzger, a GI, at a dance club in Frankfurt. They fell in love and married in 1967. Together, they moved between the U.S. and Germany, raising their children while Sigrid worked and embraced the life of a teacher’s wife. In 1997, the couple relocated to Mexico, first to Guadalajara and then to Ajijic in 2012. In Ajijic, Sigrid joined the Lakeside orchestra as a cellist and formed deep friendships with many in the community. Above all, she was known for her kindness and caring nature.
Sigrid is survived by her loving husband, Kim Metzger; her son, Luke Metzger of Austin, Texas; her daughters, Virginia and Brigitte of Newport Beach and Lake Forest, California; and her sisters, Gisela and Brigitte of Langen, Germany. She also leaves behind six grandchildren: Gustavo, Hattie, June, Mila, Hudson, and Olivia. Sigrid was preceded in death by her sister, Almut.