Ralph Emory Metzger, age 86, passed away in Springfield, Missouri on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. Ralph was a WWII Army combat veteran of the Pacific theater, a graduate of Purdue University, and a Missouri licensed professional Civil Engineer. He was employed 31 years by the Frisco / Burlington Northern Railway Company and retired in 1981. Ralph was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov 27, 1924, the son of John E. and Edith M. Metzger. He is survived by his wife of 64 years Mildred, and two children, Joycelyn Tinsley of Nixa, Missouri and Steve Metzger of Tucson, Arizona, their spouses Gary Tinsley and Debra Metzger, four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held at Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel on the evening of Thursday, April 21, 2011 between 6:00 and 8:00 pm. There will be a private service with military honors held at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri on April 22, 2011. In lieu of flowers, his family has requested that memorial donations be placed in Ralph's name with the American Heart Association or Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.