Grace Doreen Monk

1927 - 2017

Grace Doreen Monk obituary, 1927-2017, Petoskey, MI

BORN

1927

DIED

2017

FUNERAL HOME

Grace Monk Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on May 4, 2017.

Grace Doreen Monk, age 89, died peacefully the morning of March 30, 2017, at the Villa at the Bay in Petoskey Michigan. She was born July 31, 1927 at the family home on Maplewood Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to parents Edgar Charles and Alice Maude Jones Billett. Being the youngest, she was well looked after by her older siblings Frederick Charles, Vera Alice, Reta Alice, and Victor Frances, and had many friends to play jump rope, hop scotch and marbles with. She attended Maplewood Public School and the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute. Growing up in Toronto she enjoyed basketball, badminton, ice skating, golfing, horseback riding and skiing.

When Doreen (as she preferred to be called) was 17 years old, she got her first job as a secretary at Sangamo Electric in Leaside, a neighborhood northeast of downtown Toronto. It was there, at age 19, working as the Sangamo switchboard operator that she met Harold Lisney Monk, a Royal Navy veteran, who was also employed at Sangamo. After a 5 year courtship they married on March 31, 1951 at Saint Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Toronto and honeymooned in Washington, D.C. They lived in East York Toronto and spent summers building and enjoying a summer cottage on the shores of 9 Mile Lake in Muskoka, Ontario where their love of boating became a passion shared with family and friends. Together they raised two children, Christopher Lisney born in 1956 and Laurie Ann born in 1959. After living in Luxemburg for two years the family of four immigrated to South Bend, Indiana in 1964, and spent every summer boating and sailing their "Four Canucks (I through IV)" on Lake Michigan. They were avid Notre Dame football and hockey fans. Upon Harold's retirement in 1989 and their relocation to Florida, they continued the summer tradition of sailing Lake Charlevoix, especially enjoying Boyne City and Horton Bay with family and friends. After Harold's passing in January of 2006, Doreen relocated and lived until her death at Independence Village in Petoskey, Michigan. Up until 3 years ago she traveled to Canada, North Carolina and southern Michigan to visit family and friends. Until the very end, she loved to knit, making beautiful hat and scarf sets for everyone and teaching great granddaughter Viola the art. She loved playing bridge and bingo (especially with great grandson Simon), and was a member on the Wii Bowling League team since 2008, racking up many awards! She was an avid crossword player and reader and member of the Book Club. Doreen was lover of all animals and nature and always kept her hummingbirds well fed throughout the summer. She supported Raven Hill Discovery Center, especially the annual festival, and was proud to be one of the founding "Call Girls" for the Charlevoix County History Preservation Society's programs. Her passion for her religion was evident in many ways. She was a member of the Thursday Worship Service group at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Petoskey, on the Independence Village Chapel Committee and in the Bible Study class.

"GG" was extremely proud of her four great grandchildren, Austin Joseph and Olivia Rae Roxbury of Bridgewater, New Jersey and Simon Wayne and Viola Eowyn Schroeder of Ann Arbor, Michigan as well as her granddaughters Madilyn (Michael) Roxbury and Jennifer (Andrew Schroeder) Monk-Reising. She is also survived by daughter Laurie Ann Lunsford of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; son Christopher Lisney (Georganna) Monk of Horton Bay, Michigan; sister-in-law Ellen Paxton Billett of Toronto, Canada, and many other dear family and friends both in Canada and the United States. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Harold Lisney Monk, and all of her four older siblings.

The family extends their sincere appreciation to the great people of Independence Village, where she was loved by many friends and staff. They are especially grateful to the wonderfully caring staff at McLaren Northern Hospital and the Villa at the Bay. A special thank you is also extended to Rev. Jim Hempstead for administering the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to Doreen in the presence of her two dear friends Gloria and Russ Pichlik on March 28, 2017. Per her wishes, cremation was handled by Covell Funeral Home in Traverse City, Michigan.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one.

Funeral services provided by:

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, Covell-Elk Rapids Chapel

312 Pine Street, Elk Rapids, MI 49629

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