Arthur Metell, 87, Was Farmer, Native of Island

Arthur A. Metell of Edgartown died Monday evening, Feb. 17, at Royal Nursing Center in Falmouth. He was 87. He was the husband of Irene M. Ferriera Metell, with whom he shared 67 years of marriage.

Arthur was born in Oak Bluffs on Feb. 9, 1916, a son of the late Joseph and Rita Sylvia Metell. He grew up in Oak Bluffs and attended the Oak Bluffs schools.

He was a farmer by trade and worked at Wild Farm and Ox Pond Farm, both in Edgartown. He then became proprietor of Metell Vegetable Farm in Edgartown for many years.

Mr. Metell was an avid bowler and golfer. He was a charter member of the Edgartown Golf Club. He was a communicant of St. Elizabeth's Church in Edgartown and a member of the Knights of Columbus, 3rd Degree. He was a former member of the Oak Bluffs fire department, the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society, the Barnacle Club and the Portuguese-American Club.

Mr. Metell was a caring person. He will be remembered for bringing his truckload of pumpkins to Oak Bluffs so that every child would have a Halloween pumpkin.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his four children; Elaine Dias of Nantucket, Patricia Litchfield of Edgartown, Arthur Metell of Vineyard Haven and Kenneth Metell of Edgartown; 14 grandchildren; several great-grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. Mary Bender of East Falmouth, and several nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Interment will follow in the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown.

Donations may be made in Mr. Metell's memory to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.