Mr. Speaker, this week in Washington and Charleston will hold services appreciating the extraordinary life of Karen Metz, whose accomplishments have meaningfully impacted many communities. Our deepest sympathy goes to Chief of Staff Craig…
Mr. Speaker, this week in Washington and Charleston will hold services appreciating the extraordinary life of Karen Metz, whose accomplishments have meaningfully impacted many communities. Our deepest sympathy goes to Chief of Staff Craig Metz, and their son Preston. I include in the Record the following obituary from the website of Joseph Gawler's Sons, LLC.:
Karen Angela McCleary Metz, the wife of Craig Huseman Metz
for 41 years, and the mother of Preston Worthington Metz,
died peacefully at home in Washington, DC, on January 25,
2026, following more than eight years of courageously
enduring severe complications from ANCA Vasculitis. A Fourth
Generation Memphian (born July 30, 1955), she was the
daughter of Harry Robert McCleary, Jr. and Mary Angela
Gallina McCleary, who resided in Germantown, Tennessee, with
horse stables in Collierville, Tennessee. She was the
granddaughter of Harry Robert McCleary, Sr., the President
and Co-Founder of McCleary Industries, Inc. and McCleary
Brothers, Inc., and Sadye Marie ``Peggy'' Trebing McCleary,
of Memphis and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Joseph Charles
Gallina, who owned and operated a 7,500 acre commercial
farming enterprise along the Mississippi River in Shelby
County, with his brother, John Gallina, for many years, and
Frances Facelli Gallina, of Memphis. One of the largest truck
farming operations in the Mid-South, producing vegetables and
cotton, the innovative Gallina Brothers Farms employed on
average 300 seasonal workers and was one of the first
agriculture sites in the Mid-South to utilize crop dusting
for aerial application on fields and to employ massive
irrigation systems on a large-scale basis.
Following her mother and her aunts, she was graduated from
the Saint Agnes Academy for Girls, founded by the Dominican
Sisters, in Memphis, in 1851, which she attended from
Kindergarten through the Twelfth Grade. She received the
Bachelor of Science Degree in Interior Design from The
University of Tennessee, where she was an officer of the
Delta Delta Delta Sorority.
Following her graduation from college, she returned to
Memphis, where she joined Kimbrough, Inc., the firm of
Kenneth Kimbrough, as an Interior Designer, and she continued
with the firm when it merged with E.C. Denaux & Co., to
become Denaux-Kimbrough. She later moved to Mills Morris,
where she concentrated on commercial interior design. During
this time, she was an Associate Member of the Memphis Chapter
of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and
served a term as Secretary. She was also the Chairwoman of
the House Corporation of the Delta Delta Delta Chapter at
Rhodes College, overseeing the renovation of the Chapter
House and establishing an annual fundraising drive for
philanthropy.
With a keen interest in Culinary Arts, she changed careers,
receiving the Blue Ribbon Diploma from Peter Kump's New York
Cooking School and studying Classic French Culinary
Techniques in France. She became the Head Instructor at Peter
Kump's New York Cooking School in 1984, and she assisted
Peter Kump and Julia Child during their formation of the
James Beard Foundation and the purchase of the James Beard
Residence, in New York City, for the headquarters. She was
certified as an Instructor by the International Association
of Cooking Professionals (IACP), and she assisted James
Beard, Jacques Pepin, Marcella Hazan, and Diana Kennedy,
among other culinary leaders, in conducting classes. She was
also named to Outstanding Young Women of America in 1984.
Upon her relocation to Washington, DC, in 1987, she became
the United States Representative for Ecole de Cuisine La
Varenne, one of the first professional cooking schools in
France to conduct simultaneous instruction in French and
English, with locations in Paris and Burgundy. For a number
of years, they also operated ``La Varenne at The
Greenbrier,'' providing specially designed intensive programs
for guests at the resort.
Seeking to express her creativity in other areas related to
the culinary field, in 1991, she formed Karen Metz & Company,
through which she designed and produced gift boxes for baked
goods. Her first commercial customer was Chuck Williams, the
founder of Williams-Sonoma, who requested that she design and
manufacture a box to his specifications in the signature
green of their brand, which was carried in all of their
stores. Various designs of other boxes that she created were
featured in catalogues and culinary specialty stores
internationally under the brand that she established,
``Baker's Wrap.'' During this time, she was an active member
of the Food and Libations Association of Virginia (FLAVA), a
trade association for the specialty food industry.
She later established a branch of Peter Kump's Cooking
School for the Washington, DC Area, where she led classes
that continued until his death in 1995 and the sale of the
school. From that point, she re-activated Karen Metz &
Company as a culinary consulting business, with HADCO, which
was later acquired by Viking Range, as a principal client.
She was also selected by the United States Air Force to
develop the meals for inflight service on Air Force Two, at
the request of the Vice President of the United States for a
higher level of cuisine onboard.
She was the Past Chairwoman of the National Capital Area
Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF),
having served on the Board of Directors for a number of
years. She also led fundraising events for AIWF Scholarships,
that were held at Union Station and The Hay-Adams, featuring
Julia Child and the leading Chefs of Washington, DC.
She was an active member of the Junior League in Memphis,
New York City, and Washington, DC, where she was a member of
the committee that developed and published Capital Classics--
Recipes from the Junior League of Washington, and where she
later became a Sustaining Member.
A devoted mother to her son, Preston, she was
enthusiastically present for all of his school and sports
activities, also volunteering in various support roles at
Saint Albans School, including as an Annual Giving Form
Representative and with the Washington National Cathedral
Flower Mart for nine years. Her devotion extended beyond her
connection to his time in school, dedicating herself to
raising him to be the compassionate, open-minded young man
into which he has developed. She also shared her love for
cooking and culture with him, nurturing passions that remain
to this day. Most importantly, she quietly demonstrated how
to recognize and care for others, committing significant
amounts of her time to helping anyone who she perceived as
needing assistance; especially, among the elderly and those
who are homebound. Always placing the needs of others before
herself, she wholeheartedly volunteered her time to caring
for a number of individuals, organizing their living
situations, overseeing their medical care, providing meals,
and being present in their lives daily, for companionship and
to provide hope.
In addition to her husband and her son, she is survived by
her brother, Harry Robert McCleary III, and his wife Jennifer
Connell McCleary, of Memphis; her sister, Teresa Marie
McCleary, of Memphis; her sister, Alisa McCleary Byars, and
her husband, Lewis Jefferson Byars IV, of Tuscumbia, Alabama;
her aunt, Sandra Gallina Chiles, and her husband, Walter
William Chiles, Jr., of Germantown, Tennessee; her mother-in-
law, Annette Worthington Metz, of Columbia, South Carolina;
her sister-in-law, Carol Metz O'Kelly, of Florence, South
Carolina; her former brother-in-law, Dr. James Kevin O'Kelly,
Sr., of Florence, South Carolina; the fiancee of her son,
Elizabeth Parker Barringer, of New York City; three nieces; a
nephew; and two great-nephews. She was predeceased by her
parents and a Godfather of Preston, Peter Kump, of New York
City.
Memorials may be made to the Madonna Learning Center in
Germantown, Tennessee.
The family extends its heartfelt gratitude to those who so
generously donate Blood, Platelets, and Plasma, which helped
to sustain her at the initial life-threatening manifestation
of her underlying illness and for the remainder of her life.
The family also gratefully recognizes the dedicated Medics
of District of Columbia Fire Department Engine Company 31
Forest Hills Station, for their skillful and compassionate
care at her home and during numerous ambulance trips to
hospitals, as well as the Medics of the Air Ambulance Team,
for their lifesaving care in transit during one of her three
Heart Attacks.
A person of absolute integrity, who lived her Faith through
her actions, with an exceptionally compassionate nature and
zest for life, she shall be greatly missed by her family and
those whose lives that she positively impacted in a variety
of ways, including her former students, whom she nurtured,
and friends throughout the Country.
On Thursday, February 5th, a Viewing shall be held at the
Joseph Gawler's Sons Funeral Home at 1:00, with the Funeral
Service to be conducted in the Chapel at 2:00, followed by a
reception. Officiating the Service shall be, Reverend Richard
Arthur Mullins, Pastor of Saint Thomas, Apostle Catholic
Church; with the participation of Reverend Brooks Franklin
Hundley, Senior Chaplain, Saint Albans School; and Reverend
Dominique Francois Peridans, Rector, Church of the Ascension
and Saint Agnes, Episcopal. Honorary Pallbearers are members
of the Saint Albans School Class of 2012.
On Saturday, February 7th, the Rite of Committal with Final
Commendation shall be held at her graveside, at Magnolia
Cemetery, in Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:00, conducted
by Reverend Mark Lowell Sargent, of the Catholic Diocese of
London, Ontario, Canada; followed by a reception on Queen
Street, in Charleston. Active Pallbearers are: Vic Brandt,
Butler Derrick, Drew Fanning, Chappy McKay, Brown McLeod,
John Moore, Cal Stephens, Ed Vaughan, Charles Waring, and
Congressman Joe Wilson. Honorary Pallbearers are: Attorney
General Alan Wilson, Dr. Addison Wilson, Julian Wilson, and
Hunter Wilson. James A. McAlister Funeral Home has charge of
arrangements in Charleston.