- November 26, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Hal Metteé lives his life looking ahead.
That’s why, at 87, he’s as active as anyone, and doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon. He’s involved in his church, he’s a car fanatic and he hosts dinner parties from his Palm Coast home.
Despite his busyness, for him, volunteering with Haven Hospice is a priority. Metteé was presented with a pin for 100 hours of volunteer work Monday at the organization’s monthly volunteer support meeting.
“Hospice is not for the dead,” Metteé said. “It’s for those who are still living. People sometimes forget that.”
Haven Hospice helps support people with lifetime illnesses at no cost, with a focus on quality of life. The organization also serves their patients’ family members. Hospice provides medical equipment, transportation and companionship to patients, among other things.
It also focuses on transitioning recovering patients and surviving family members to a normal way of life.
Metteé first encountered the organization when his first wife, Trudy Metteé, faced health complications before she died. Haven Hospice helped Metteé take care of his wife from his home by providing him with medical equipment he needed and by connecting him with in-home healthcare professionals.
When she died two-and-a-half years ago, Haven Hospice remained in Metteé’s life. Volunteers from the organization visited with him and helped him transition back into a normal life after losing the woman he’d spent most of his life with.
“Haven Hospice literally put me back on my feet,” Metteé said. “At first, I thought I would give an hour of my time for every hour they gave me, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop working with them.”
Metteé met Trudy when he saw her teaching at a dance studio.
“I’m a man with love stories in my life,” he said. “I walked in and I saw her and said, ‘That’s the girl I want to marry.’ And 13 weeks later, I put a diamond on her hand.”
In the wake of World War II, Metteé had opted for voluntary induction into the Army. He married Trudy before he left, lying about his age to get a marriage certificate. He was 17; she was 18.
Although he’d originally wanted to be a pilot, Metteé found himself in school for electrical engineering, and he completed his master’s degree in the field before being deployed. When the U.S. Marines raised the American Flag over Iwo Jima, Metteé was on top of Mount Suribachi, constructing a worldwide radio transmission tower.
“It was a nasty war,” Metteé said. “The only instruction we were given was to take no prisoners.”
But when he came home, he chose to look to the future, not the past. That’s all you can do, he said.
He got a job in electrical engineering, and he and his wife raised four children during 66 years of marriage.
In the three months leading to Trudy Metteé’s death, she had two strokes and four heart attacks. She went into rehabilitation, and Hal Metteé stayed with her constantly as she was treated.
That’s when Haven Hospice got involved. They convinced Metteé to take a break from his bedside watch and helped him furnish his home for his wife’s homecoming. Metteé didn’t want his wife to live her last days in confinement treatment, but without Haven Hospice, he wouldn’t have had a choice, he said.
After his wife died, Haven Hospice helped Metteé adjust to the change.
“It was tough,” Metteé said in a somber tone he rarely adopts. “But Haven Hospice helped me get my life back to normal.”
Now, Metteé volunteers with the organization whenever he can. He makes visits to people’s homes, provides transportation and hands out brochures about Haven Hospice at community events.
He’s also since remarried. His wife, Mary Lou Metteé, who attends the same church as he does, was having car troubles one day. Hal Metteé gave her a ride home. Five weeks later, he proposed.
“I know what I want,” Metteé said, laughing. “And when I see what I want, I go and get it. She’s a marvelous lady.”
Losing his first wife was hard, but Metteé said he’s been able to keep looking ahead. His faith in God and support from Haven Hospice helped the process for him.
“I’ve had two lifetimes of remarkable living,” he said. “I wanted to give some of that back.”
Since he’s been on the receiving end of Haven Hospice’s support, he said he knows how important it is.
“If you can leave someone’s house and you’ve gotten them to smile or laugh, you’ve done your job,” Metteé said. “If you can get them to feel better, for just a second, about the world they live in, you’ve done your job.”
