Elinor (Fox) Mettler

COPAKE FALLS — Elinor (Fox) Mettler died May 11, 2011, at her home in Copake Falls.Born April 10, 1926, in Brooklyn, N.Y., she was the daughter of Mary (Foley) and Arthur Fox Sr. She lived in Copake Falls for 64 years.Mrs. Mettler was the editor and publisher of the Roe Jan Independent, which she founded in 1973. She sold the paper in 1986 but continued writing for it for many years and was again writing her column “Down Maple Lane” for The Columbia Paper. Last year a collection of her columns from the last 25 years was published in book titled “Down Maple Lane.”Mrs. Mettler used the Roe Jan Independent as a platform to promote the creation of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association and the initial purchase of the rail bed that is now the trail. She continued to serve on the HVRTA board.Throughout her adult life she worked to improve the quality of life in the Roe Jan area. She co-founded the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society; organized the Roe Jan Ramble road race; started the International Friendship Exchange; originated the Family Ski Day when she was head of the Roeliff Jansen PTA; and helped raise funds for the new Roeliff Jansen Community Library. Mrs. Mettler was a member of Our Lady of Hope Church and attended St. Bridget’s Church since the 1930s.In 2000 the New York Parks and Conservation Association granted her the Greenway and Community Trail Spark Plug Award. In 2009 Mrs. Mettler was named Copake Community Day Grand Marshall in honor of her long-standing community leadership.Mrs. Mettler was predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Dr. John J. Mettler Jr., a local veterinarian. She is survived by her son, Patrick and his wife, Patti Jones, of Fitchburg, Mass.; her five daughters, JoAnn and her husband, Anthony Bosnick, of Gaithersburg, Md., Jeanne Mettler and her wife, Patricia Placona, of Copake, Meg Wormley and her partner, Michael Chesloff, of Hillsdale, Sally and her husband, Stephen Joyce, of Braintree, Mass., and Suzanne Mettler and her husband, Wayne Grove, of Syracuse, N.Y.; her grandchildren, Bridget Mettler, Joseph, Rosemarie, Matthew and Daniel Bosnick, Meghan, Christopher, Gregory and Annie Kate Joyce and Sophie and Julia Mettler-Grove; her sister, Carolyn Barton of Ancramdale; her brother, Arthur Fox Jr. of Potomac, Md.; several nieces and nephews; and her dear friend, Richard Barton.A funeral Mass was conducted at Our Lady of Hope in Copake Falls with burial following in St. Bridget’s Cemetery.Memorial contributions may be made to the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, PO Box 669, Hillsdale, NY 12529 or the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, PO Box 356, Millerton, NY 12546.