Francis Frank Marion Monks
September 10, 1925 - November 22, 2014
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Francis Frank Marion Monks
September 10, 1925 - November 22, 2014
Obituary
Francis ‘Frank’ Marion Monks, age 89 of Bellingham, WA, passed away into the loving arms of his Savior Christ Jesus on Saturday, November 22, 2014. He was born in Bunston, Missouri, October 10, 1925. At the age of 9 he traveled cross country with his brothers to meet the family at their new homestead in Colorado.
Frank joined the Navy in 1941, serving on the USS Brush. After his honorable discharge in 1945, he met the love of his life, Bertha Garetta Roosma at the old Margaret’s Cafe. They married on Sept. 7, 1946.
Frank and wife Bertha built several homes around Bellingham eventually settling at Lake Samish where they raised their two sons. Once settled, Frank spent much of his career working for the old Wilder’s Construction, and numerous other construction companies in the Bellingham area. Chances are you may just be driving on a road that Frank had a hand in building.
Anyone who knew Frank, knew he was not only born to work but also to serve the Lord. In 1967 Frank and wife Bertha, along with a group of friends, built the old Grace Community Church, currently the United Reformed Church of Bellingham. His love for the Lord was evident as a devoted husband, caring Father, servant of God and a conductor of faith.
He was preceded in death by his wife Bertha Garetta Monks; parents Roy and Edith Monks; brothers David, Homer, Hillard, Bill, Eugene, Arthur, Harold; and granddaughter Miranda Pearl Monks. Frank is survived by his sons Daniel Monks and Jeffery (Janet) Monks; grandchildren Shawna (Rodney) Talley, Andrea Monks and Olivia Monks; brother George; sisters Dorothy, Huldah, Thelma and Betty Jo; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
A Visitation in the Chapel, will be held at 9:30AM on Monday, December 8, 2014 with a Graveside service following at 11:00AM at Greenacres Memorial Park, 5700 Northwest Dr., Ferndale, WA. A Memorial Service will follow at 1:00PM at United Reformed Church in Lynden, WA. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Whatcom Hospice or United Reform Church of Bellingham.
5 responses to Francis Frank Marion Monks
Gary & Bette Mitchell says:
November 22, 2014
part twoFrom that moment on there wasn’t a time that I did not learn something from Frank about life, love, nature as well as God. Frank was fun to watch when people had him pegged for a man of limited bible knowledge and they would waltz into a discussion about some topic and I would sit back and watch as Frank would ever so politely dismiss their opinion with swiftness and sureness, while he quoted chapter and verse from the Bible. I am humbled and ever envious about just how people smart Frank was. I was honored to call him a friend, and was thankful he was present in not only my life but my wife and children’s lives as well. Frank and Bert always looked after our family to make sure we had enough, and were always ready to help with the mere phone call to get them running to whatever issue came about.
Anonymous says:
November 22, 2014
Our fond relationship with Frank Monks began, when we moved to Bellingham some 20 years ago and we were privileged to make the acquaintance of Frank, Bert and their family, just after I took a job at Camp Lutherwood.I was the site director and was responsible for the outdoor maintenance and buildings. One fine day, I struggled to unbolt a large part off a tractor and after a long period of having no success, I called to Frank and he came to my rescue with a can of Kroil oil. He promptly had me spray the seized part and then said come lets go have lunch. After eating and visiting he had me try the part again and it came off like a slippery glove. I asked how he knew this would work and he said, he learned the trick many years ago while working on Caterpillar parts that were tough to remove. This lesson had the opposite effect between Frank and I; it was a bonding point in our lives, which I still cherish.
part one
Anonymous says:
November 22, 2014
part 4 After a very long delay, the tree faller got impatient and began to berate me for hiring Frank and that his delay was costing him money. I told the logger to just wait until we actually found out the reason. I radioed my son and he said that the tractor had a major oil leak. The logger and I walked back along the dirt road and found Frank leaning against the tractor with a large black spot on the ground under it. Frank explained that the metal pan is covered by a steel guard equipped with a 2-inch hole to drain the oil and a stick ran up that hole and punctured the pan draining the motor of oil. The logger who in his haste to blame Frank had to eat his words when the owner of the rental company said there was probably no other man alive that would have seen the oil pressure gauge dip a couple of times and stop the motor thereby preventing a $30,000 repair bill.
Anonymous says:
November 22, 2014
part three//Frank had a steady patience and seemed to be connected with life in such a way that his ease of working during the day, was a constant reminder that with God at your side, life was truly a great thing, and I know Frank was thankful for each of those days. A humble man, Frank let me frame his military certificate and a copy of a citation he had received during his time serving on the USS Brush. He joked one day that he almost got court marshalled for firing a deck gun, when he fell asleep and hit the fire control. He could laugh at how it happened and told me how he told the truth and at the end he never got any long-term discipline for it.
Frank was a patient man; one time while we were doing some logging Frank was driving a rented Caterpillar, which we used to drag the logs to the landing. My young son Tyler was using a radio to keep us advised of the progress.
Anonymous says:
November 22, 2014
part 5.I had to smile, in taking the days events into perspective and see just how calm Frank went about his life, always with a smile, a lot of wisdom and humility. He could have taken the logger to task and put him in his place but he choose to just be patient and get the repair done and start work again. We love his counsel and wisdom and will miss him dearly,
The Mitchells, Gary, Bette, Tyler, & Corrie Burke and Krista Mantello.
(sorry about the parts but it would not let us post the whole note on one screen)