Joseph P. Mettner

Madison -- Joseph P. Mettner, of Madison, loved and respected by many, died unexpectedly on October 3, 2009. He was 45 years old.

Joe was born on December 21, 1963, in De Pere, Wisconsin, to parents Therese and Robert Mettner. In 1982, he graduated as valedictorian from Abbott Pennings High School in De Pere. He then attended the University of Wisconsin -- Madison, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration (1986) and a juris doctorate (1992).

Joe had a passion for public policy and was devoted to public service. He began working for Governor Tommy Thompson while still in law school and, in 1993, Governor Thompson appointed him to serve as a Commissioner on the Tax Appeals Commission. He served in that role until 1996 when he was appointed as one of three members, and later as chairman, of the state's Public Service Commission. In 2003, he left the Commission to form his own utility-regulation consulting firm, Found Lake Consulting, which he named after the lake his father fished.

Joe had a contagious fascination with life. He approached everything he did with extraordinary enthusiasm, dedication, and love -- whether in the role of father, husband, brother, friend, or public servant. He also remains responsible for many a belly laugh, creatively recounted observation, dead-on impersonation, kind gesture, and head-to-toe warm feeling. He touched the lives of many, including those to whom at death he gave the gift of life, and he will be missed beyond words.

Joe is survived by his wife, Michelle; their two young daughters, Sara and Kelsey; his sister, Jeanne Mettner (Scott Szarkowicz); his brother, John (Cathy) Mettner; his father's wife, Ruth Mettner; special aunts and uncle, Louise Waldkirch and Mary and Pete Witte; nieces and nephews, Robert and Sophia Mettner, Kalahari and Maxfield Szarkowicz, and Zachary, Jacob, and Isabel Intrater; the eight Waldkirch and Witte cousins; and so many close friends, whom Joe always regarded as family. He is preceded in death by his parents.

There will be a visitation Thursday, October 8^th, 2009, from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and Service at 1:00 p.m. at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Joe's name to Notre Dame Elementary School in De Pere or Children's Hospital & Health System in Milwaukee.