Van Metre’s family connections to Cornell go deep Dave’s father, Douglas Ure Van Metre, served as a Cornell College trustee and college treasurer from 1944 until 1952. Dave’s mother, Mary Copley Van Metre, was the first children’s librarian at Cornell. Dave’s brother, Douglas Copley Van Metre attended Cornell with the Class of 1950 and served as a Cornell College trustee (1981-97; Life Trustee 1998 until his death in 2010) and assistant football coach. Douglas C.’s wife, CeCe Lynch Van Metre, is the niece of long-time Mount Vernon residents Jim and Ruth McCutcheon and was made an honorary alumna of Cornell in 2018. Dave’s uncle, Joe Meade, Class of 1917, played football and served Cornell in coaching and administrative positions, including dean of men in the 1950s. Dave’s aunt, Harriet Copley Meade, was the director of physical education for women at Cornell from 1924-1927.
Dave and Carol Van Metre’s name and impact in the Mount Vernon community stretches far and wide.
“You can’t go anywhere in Mount Vernon, and especially on the Mount Vernon Community School District campus, without seeing the positive impact of Dave and Carol Van Metre and their family,” said Dr. Greg Batenhorst, Mount Vernon Community Schools superintendent. “The Van Metre family always wanted to help in any way they could, and wanted to help in a variety of ways.”
Those projects at Mount Vernon Community Schools included help with building a new weight room at the high school, assisting with the Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center expanded seating, purchasing new instruments for the Mount Vernon Marching Band, building a new softball complex as well as support of various academic programs in the district and support of families in need of assistance.
“With the weight room, he really wanted that to be a welcoming place for all kids — that was really important to him,” said Matt Thede, Mount Vernon activities director. “With the changes that were made in there, that was definitely accomplished as we have a majority of our entire high school taking classes in there.”
“More than that, Dave was a huge Mustang fan after all these years,” Batenhorst said. “When I last spoke with Dave this spring, we spent a great deal of time talking about all of the great things going on with the various programs in the district. He always followed our programs, and always wanted new Mustang gear to wear and to share with his family members.”
At Cornell College, Van Metre was the lead donor in the improvements to the football field, now named Van Metre Field at Ash Park.
Specifically, Van Metre funded new wrought iron fencing and landscaping, new bleachers with stadium seating, a new scoreboard, a new concessions and restroom facility, a renovated press box, outdoor plaza entrance to Van Metre field and a new Ram statue.
“Dave was such a stand-up guy. Down-to-earth. Wise. Communicative. Articulate. Supportive. Loving. Curious. Wise. Community-focused,” said Cornell College President Jonathan Brand. “Though not a graduate of Cornell College, he was very attached to Cornell. Not only does the Van Metre family have extensive Cornell connections, David would also often tell me that some of his greatest childhood memories involved running and playing all around the Hilltop, days on end, with friends. He would often tell me that Cornell felt like his school.
“He always wanted to help Cornell, often asking me–what can I do to help? At the same time, he was most excited when we had projects that benefitted both Mount Vernon and Cornell. Because he was such a believer in the power of sport to develop leaders, it comes as no surprise that facilities shared by the Mount Vernon Community School District and Cornell College were of greatest interest to Dave (and his family). Those projects brought Mount Vernon and the college closer together.”
What a tremendous loss for the Cornell and Mount Vernon communities,” said Jeff Meeker, athletics director at Cornell College. “We are so grateful here at Cornell for the Van Metre family legacy and for the generous contributions Dave made to our athletic facilities. Those improvements have had such a positive impact on our student-athletes and our athletics program. We are extremely proud of Van Metre Field at Ash Park, and the Van Metre Family Softball Field is one of the nicest facilities around.”
His philanthropy expanded well beyond Mount Vernon and Cornell, with the Van Metre family also contributing to a number of projects in the Omaha area.
“What is most impressive about those projects is that they especially targeted communities with great need, and helped instill new pride and hope for areas of Omaha that had great needs,” Batenhorst said. “Dave’s generosity was only surpassed by his humility.”
Carol Woods-Boren noted that Dave and Carole were large supporters of Mount Vernon. They helped with bleachers at the original football field and the middle school weight room project.
“Most of our communication was through text, email and phone calls,” Woods-Boren said. “It was always great to hear from him and I tried to keep him updated with pictures of all the projects he helped support at the school and around town. His support of the Lester Buresh Family Community Wellness Center, the Veterans Memorial and Cornell are some of the other ways he has influenced this town.
“As we discussed projects we often got sidetracked talking about Mount Vernon people and school traditions. He did say when we were planning the Mustang statue site that we might have to put a fence around it so those ornery Solon Spartans didn’t deface it. He was a very successful guy who wanted to give back to the communities he lived in.”
The Mount Vernon Alumni Breakfast during Heritage Days was one of his favorite events, to come back and visit with classmates and friends.
“He moved from Mount Vernon a long time ago, but he didn’t forget us,” Woods-Boren said.
Kathy Staskal with the Mount Vernon Alumni Association concurred with Woods-Boren.
“We felt Dave’s love, even though he lived in Omaha for many years, as he often traveled to be a part of our events with other alumni, and enjoyed roaming among the people and town of Mount Vernon,” Staskal said. “He has been an alumni leader in reaching out to financially support need ed projects within our school district, and I am thankful.”
Staskal noted that Dave was an alumni of the class of 1955 and being inducted into the alumni service Hall of Fame in 2010 was one of his happiest memories.
“Dave was a true Mustang with many friends still here in Mount Vernon, and he will be sorely missed,” Batenhorst said.
Dave passed away after a long battle with cancer in early May. Dave, an alum of Mount Vernon, went on to attend Colorado College. He was drafted to play in the Los Angeles Rams in 1959, and then went on to serve in the United States Army after his tenure with football ended. He moved to Omaha in 1968.
Dave had a life-long passion for fitness and its benefits for overall health. He was a regular at the Downtown Omaha YMCA. He ran in the New York, Twin Cities and Los Angeles marathons. Later in life he was an avid Pilates practitioner, usually taking his dog with him.
Dave was kind, fair and generous. He was a joy to sit and chat with. He loved to laugh, particularly at himself.
A memorial service for Dave may be planned for later this summer.
Dave’s father, Douglas Ure Van Metre, served as a Cornell College trustee and college treasurer from 1944 until 1952. Dave’s mother, Mary Copley Van Metre, was the first children’s librarian at Cornell. Dave’s brother, Douglas Copley Van Metre attended Cornell with the Class of 1950 and served as a Cornell College trustee (1981-97; Life Trustee 1998 until his death in 2010) and assistant football coach. Douglas C.’s wife, CeCe Lynch Van Metre, is the niece of long-time Mount Vernon residents Jim and Ruth McCutcheon and was made an honorary alumna of Cornell in 2018. Dave’s uncle, Joe Meade, Class of 1917, played football and served Cornell in coaching and administrative positions, including dean of men in the 1950s. Dave’s aunt, Harriet Copley Meade, was the director of physical education for women at Cornell from 1924-1927.