Howard Irvin Monks, 94

Howard Irvin Monks, Jr., 94, passed away at Life Care in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Oct. 9, 2012.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m., at Grandview Cemetery, Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

He was born on Nov. 2, 1917, in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, to Howard I. and Mary Monks and graduated from Bonners Ferry High School with the class of 1935.

He attended the University of Idaho from 1935 - 1939 and was a member of Delta Chi Fraternity. He did not graduate from he university. Mr. Monks worked for Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company in New Haven Connecticut from June 1939 through September 1941.

He Returned to U of I in January 1942 and completed a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. He graduated in June 1942.

From November 1942 through April 1943 he worked on an Army Corps of Engineers surveying project in Alaska, surveying a railroad route from Fairbanks to Nome.

In June 1943, he left for Boca Raton, Florida, to enter Army Air Corps basic training as an aviation cadet.

While there, he met the love of his life, Jean LaMotte.

He trained in various locations until December 1944, when he set sail from San Pedro, Calif., enroute to Hobart Tasmania and then on to Bombay, India.

From there, he traveled by train to Calcutta, where he was assigned to duty with the Maintenance Division of the India Burma Air Service Command.

He later moved north to Assam in northern India In April 1946; with the war ended, he sailed from Calcutta to New York via the Suez Canal, arriving in May.

On June 13, 1946, Howard boarded the Empire Builder and returned to Florida to marry his sweetheart, Jean. They corresponded throughout the war and were married in Tampa on June 24, 1946.

Howard and Jean honeymooned in Glacier National Park and took up residence in Bonners Ferry, where Howard worked for the resident state highway engineer.

In 1948, Howard returned to the U of I for graduate work in education. In fall 1948, Howard accepted a teaching position at Kellogg High School and began career as a chemistry teacher.

In June 1951, Howard was called back to active service from the Air Force Reserves. Howard was assigned to Greenland Air Base Narssuak, where he ran the base school.

In August 1952 he returned from Greenland and rejoined his family.

In July 1953 Howard and Family moved to Coos Bay, Ore., where he taught chemistry and was head of the science department at Marshfield High School.

In 1968, Howard became the director of data processing for School District 9 and ushered the school district into the computer age. Howard finished his career in education as principal of Michigan Ave. Jr. High, retiring in June 1977.

On retirement, Howard and Jean returned to Idaho and took up residence at Robinson Lake. The summer cabin which had been constructed in 1969 was added onto to become the lovely home that graces the shores of Robinson Lake to this day.

Howard and Jean made Robinson Lake their home until 1996, when they moved into the Monks home on Washington Street in Bonners Ferry. Howard lived at the home his father had built until June 2011, when failing health forced his move to Luther Park assisted living center in Sandpoint.

He lived there until March 2012, when failing health forced a move to the Life Care Center in Sandpoint, where he passed away on Oct. 9, 2012.

Family and friends are invited to sign Howard’s book at www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com Arrangements entrusted to the care of Bonners Ferry Funeral Home.