Tom Monchak

Monchak, Tom
loving husband and best friend, passed away peacefully, but far too soon on June 23, 2011 in Phoenix with his loving wife Lori holding his hand, following a painful 13-month battle with cancer. Tom accepted his illness the way he faced everything in life - with strength, dedication, knowledge, dignity, compassion, and humor. Born September 6, 1947 in Pueblo, Colorado to Ted and Irene Monchak (Gray), Tom's survivors include his loving Wife and best friend Lori, daughter Brooke, brother Dan (Becky & Adam, Nate, Kyla, and Nick), Lori's son Nick (Michele), new grandson Jaxon and father in law Rod Dismuke. Tom grew up in Pueblo, graduated with Honors from Central High School and then attended the Colorado School of Mines where he earned BS and MS degrees in Engineering Mathmatics. While working on his MS degree, Tom joined the US Army Reserves and served 6 years. Tom loved the Colorado Mountains and enjoyed hiking, fishing, sight-seeing, and golfing there, and was the State Champion junior bowler in 1966. Tom began his professional career while in graduate school with the Colorado Department of Transportation. During his 18-year career there, Tom progressed thru the Engineering ranks to become the Pre-Construction Engineer of the Denver Metropolitan Area. During his 5-year stint in this position, Tom most enjoyed managing the design of Denver Area Freeway projects. This led to Tom's decision to move to Phoenix in 1988 to accept a challenging job opportunity working for a private engineering company on a large contract for the Arizona Department of Transportation managing the design of the new Phoenix Area Freeways. Tom's performance and success on the first contract led to a second contract beginning in 1995. Under the 2 contracts, nearly 100 miles of the new Phoenix Area Freeways were designed, have been constructed and are now serving the traveling public. Tom was always very proud of his contribution to this vital program that is so important to all area residents. Tom was a long-time member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and American Transportation Engineers. While focusing on his professional responsibilities, in 1999 Tom was very fortunate to meet his wife, Lori, who enriched his life enormously. As they settled into their new life following their marriage in Sedona in 2001, they became closer and happier each day. They returned to Sedona often and spent a week there each fall to enjoy hiking the scenic trails and enjoying the fall colors. As their love blossomed, they kenw they wanted to spend as much time with each other as possible. As a result, they both retired in February 2006, and thoroughly enjoyed the amount of and quality of time they had together since then, especially time shared with their children and french bulldog, Shadow. In his later years, Tom thoroughly enjoyed hiking, playing golf, poker, fishing, gardening, raising orchids, collecting kaleidoscopes, watching movies, and anything he was doing with Lori. Tom will be dearly missed by his close family members and friends. In lieu of flowers, please make any contribution to the charity of your choice. A special thank you to all the Hospice of the Valley angels. Please visit www.hansenmortuary.com to send online condolences.