Michael R. "Mike" Monfils

Michael R. "Mike" Monfils

Peekskill, NY - Born in Green Bay to Raymond "Mike" and Josephine "Jo" Monfils in 1938, Mike attended S.S. Peter and Paul School and Sacred Heart Seminary. He is a Graduate of St. Norbert College and attended Graduate School at Loyola.

Mike was elected to public office in 1972 and 1974 as Brown County Supervisor and Green Bay Alderman, then elected Mayor of Green Bay in 1975 at the age of 36, serving in that capacity until 1979. Under his leadership, the city completed its first comprehensive plan since the '20s. Mike also brought modern management procedures into reality during his term that continue to benefit the city today. Mike played a significant role in seeing the passage of the groundbreaking Tax Incremental Financing legislation at the state level that still serves today as an important economic development tool for Wisconsin communities.

Mike was the Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 8th congressional district in 1980. He then accepted a teaching position in government administration at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Mike was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served as a Lieutenant from 1961-63 in Germany and continued on Active Reserve from 1964-67.

Mike's varied and accomplished professional life included eight years at Fort Howard Paper Company as well as a business partnership with his friend and colleague, Paul Willems, in a direct mail marketing business and a cable television franchise group before he moved to Ohio with his wife, Dr. Mary Timney, where he worked for over 10 years as a labor mediator for the State of Ohio. Mike retired from that position and he and his wife subsequently resided in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Hayward, California, and Peekskill, New York, as Mary continued in her tenured professor positions in each community.

Between them, Mike and Mary had three grandchildren and four children. He is survived by his brother, Jim, and his two children, Daniel and Matthew and was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Waynette "Winnie," and his first wife, Mary (Peterson).