Obituary of Frank Joseph Schmetz

Dr. Frank Joseph Schmetz Jr. died last Monday, March 24 at his home in Scotts Valley at the age of 90. He was born in Pennsauken, New Jersey on Feb. 11, 1924, the son of Frank J. Schmetz and Gertrude M. Flachskampf, both of whom emigrated from Germany. From humble beginnings, this ambitious, hard working young man had early aspirations of becoming a naval pilot after high school. He learned to fly, joined the Navy and was later flying Hellcats at the end of WWII out of Hawaii. His interest in chemistry after attending University of Pennsylvania landed him a research position in a lab at Massachusetts General Hospital. It was here that he met his first wife, Marjorie E. Dunn, a dietician at the hospital. Their early years were spent in Boston, until they headed for Burlington, VT where he attended University of Vermont medical school. Upon graduation, he returned to the Navy to begin training to be a flight surgeon. This allowed him to combine his talents for aviation and medicine while caring for the service members of the squadron VR-24 in Kenitra, Morocco. Returning to the states, the family lived in New Jersey so he could attend the ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia, PA. From this point, his passion for treating eye diseases led him to spend the next 22 years in this field. He retired from the Navy with 32 years of military service. In 1974, the family moved to Scotts Valley and Dr. Schmetz began his private ophthalmology practice in Santa Cruz. He brought the early laser technology and put his skills as a retinal surgeon to valuable use in Santa Cruz County for the next 13 years. His wife, Marjorie, predeceased him by 28 years. He found love again with Janet A. Dressler, who he met while caring for the military families in Morocco in the 1960's. They enjoyed their retirement years traveling and keeping up with their combined 12 children, 21 grandchildren and one great grandchild. He is survived by his wife, Janet Schmetz, and the children from his first marriage, Judy (Schmetz) Yaholkovsky, Karl Schmetz, Dr. Mark Schmetz, and Patty (Schmetz) Wood. The children of his second marriage, Kathy Anderson, Mary Akin, Tom Dressler, Steve Dressler, Brian Dressler, Sueann Dressler, Janet Levowitz, and Anne Fox also survive him. Memorial services will be held on Monday, March 31 at 10am (Rosary) and Thursday, April 10 at 10am, both at Our Lady Star of the Sea at 515 Frederick St., Santa Cruz. Donations may be sent to Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Our Lady Star of the Sea Church or Senior Network Services of Santa Cruz.