Ole Mettler

Ole Mettler, an icon of Lodi business and community service and a devoted family man, has died at the age of 96. Mettler was born in 1917 at Mason Hospital and lived his entire life in the house his father, E.J. Mettler, built on Cherry Road. He attended Lodi Union High School and was one of the founding members of the school's FFA program, eventually serving as president. After graduation, Mettler attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture economics. In his senior year, he met his future wife, Dorothy May Blair, and they were married a year later, in 1941. Their marriage lasted more than 72 years, until her death last year. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, Mettler felt compelled to join the Army Air Corps. He returned home from World War II to a 1-year-old son, Bruce, and later had a daughter, Joan. Mettler took over the family business in 1960 and became president of Farmers and Merchants Bank. His father was chairman. By 1994, Mettler was ready to retire as bank president, but he remained F&M's chairman until 2010, when he was named chairman emeritus. He held that position until his death. Mettler served in several leadership roles during his banking career, including director of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and president of the California Bankers Association.