John Patrick Metke (May 27, 1922 – September 8, 2013), commonly known as Pat Metke, was an American businessman and politician who served as an Oregon state legislator. He was a Republican who served one two-year term in the Oregon House of Representatives. Outside the legislature, Metke was a partner in an insurance agency located in Bend, Oregon. He also served seven years on the Oregon Game Commission, an executive group appointed by the governor to oversee the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Early life
Metke was born in Bend, Oregon on May 27, 1922. He was the son of Luther J. Metke and Anna (Dobbs) Metke. His father was born in New York state while his mother was from Ireland. His father settled along the Deschutes River near Bend in 1907. The senior Metke built roads, bridges, and log homes throughout Central Oregon. He also built a number of other structures including the Camp Sherman Community Hall in Camp Sherman, Oregon, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Metke grew up in Bend. As a youth, he went to Allen Elementary School and was active in Boy Scouts. He attended Bend High School, where he was student body president during his senior year. He was also the starting quarterback on his high school football team. The Bend High School football team won the Oregon state championship in his senior year. He graduated from high school in 1941 and went on to University of Portland.
At the University of Portland, Metke was elected freshman class president. He was also a member of the university's football team and track and field squad. During the summer he worked for the United States Forest Service fighting wildfires. At the end of his sophomore year, he was elected student body president, to serve in that position during his junior year (the 1943–44 academic year). However, before that academic year began, Metke joined the United States Navy as an aviation cadet and was sent to Wesleyan University in Ohio for pre-flight training.
Metke completed his pre-flight training in December 1943 and was then reassigned to Wenatchee, Washington, for preliminary flight school. After he completed ground school and initial flight training at Wenatchee, the Navy sent him to Saint Mary's College of California for advance flight training. He was then assigned to the aviation cadet regiment at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station in Texas.
Metke was commissioned as an ensign in early 1945. He then began flying anti-submarine patrols in two-engine Navy Venture bombers. He flew patrol missions along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Before he left the Navy, he married Ursula Rose (Polly) Partlow. Their wedding took place on October 4, 1945 in Olympia, Washington.
Business and civic affairs
After leaving the Navy, Metke and his wife moved to Seattle where he worked for an insurance company. In 1948, he moved to Palo Alto, California where the family resided for about a year before returning to Bend.
In 1949, Metke moved his family back to Bend, taking a job with Lumberman's Insurance Company. Once back in Bend, Metke got involved in a wide range of community groups. He joined the Lions Club and the Jaycees. He also became a member of the Knights of Columbus and was an active supporter of the Boy Scouts. In addition, he was the local chairman for Crusade for Freedom campaign in 1950. Metke finished 1950 by being selected as Bend's Junior Citizen of Year for his active support of the local Jaycees, Lions Club and other civic groups.
His community involvement continued to grow throughout the early 1950s. He joined the Central Oregon Hospitals Foundation board of directors in 1951 and was elected president of the Jaycees in 1952. The following year, he was appointed to the local Red Cross board of directors, and the next year, he was elected to the Bend Chamber of Commerce board. In 1955, he became chairman of the County Library board of directors.
Metke became a partner in Lumberman's Insurance Agency in 1955. Metke also got involved in local politics during the 1956 election cycle, serving as the local campaign chairman for a Republican candidate running for the United States Senate.
State representative
In 1958, Metke decided to run as a Republican for the District 27 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives. At that time, District 27 represented Deschutes County in central Oregon. He was unopposed in the Republican primary. In the Democratic primary, the incumbent Ole W. Grubb was also unopposed. In the general election, Metke won by 292 votes. The final tally was 3,859 votes for Metke against 3,567 for Grubb.