Louis Albert Monus

Louis Albert Monus passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids Minnesota on Nov 22, 2024.
Louis Albert Monus was born to John and Katherine Monus on July 5, 1920 in Kipling Saskatchewan Canada. He grew up with eight brothers and one sister. His father farmed and was also a pastor and church planter - starting many churches in that part of Canada. Al was the first in the family to go to high school and then to Bible school and University, studying at McMaster in Ontario, Moody Bible Institute, University of North Dakota, Bethel College, and University of Oklahoma.
Al felt a calling to go to India as a missionary, and after service as a conscientious objector in a forestry camp for government of Canada, he sailed to India in 1948. Al married his wife Bernice Peterson in India in 1953, and had two sons: Paul and Gerald, as well as a granddaughter Katie.
Al lived an adventurous life, working in remote mountain villages, combining evangelism, bookstore work, teaching, and service. Al was always joyful and positive, and connected with people with compassion and sensitivity. He had the privilege of sharing the gospel with the Dali Lama and his sister, who were fleeing persecution from the Chinese, and gave him a Tibetan bible. After two terms in India with other missions, Al joined Wycliffe Bible translators. He loved the sport of English cricket, American baseball (Twins, Astros), gardening, and reading. Later in life he became interested in the Institute for Creation Research and read scientific books.
Al spoke 7 languages and had great compassion for vulnerable people. In 2008 God led him to co-found a ministry in Pakistan to care for orphaned children when he was age 88. His last trip to Pakistan was in 2012 at age 92. He was a champion for Israel, and continued studying languages, linguistics, and history until the end. Al always had a book nearby.
Al was a servant leader, and never sought credit or praise, and would give you the shirt off of his back. He loved people, and will be greatly missed.
God blessed Al with amazing longevity, as he lived for more than 104 years. He had various medical issues, but never complained. He was a life-long learner, could talk to almost anyone about anything, and would ask interesting questions that combined awareness of the person with interest in the subject matter at hand. He had friends all over the world and had many 'younger people' as friends. He played the guitar and was learning the violin.
Al also worked at Mercy Hospital in shipping and receiving, JC Penney in the shoe department, sold sewing machines at Sears, and worked as a translator for the Billy Graham organization.
God used Al in unique ways. He was always encouraging others to persist, to not give up, and to see the good in any situation. He was especially fascinated by Genesis and the book of Revelation. He took stands against erroneous thinking, even when this cost him things. He loved his wife Bernice, his sons Paul and Gerald, and his granddaughter Katie, of whom he was very proud. He would often be seen talking positively about her latest accomplishments. He treated people with respect, and demonstrated faith in action, believing God would work things together for good, in any situation.
Obituary:
Al Monus, a beloved father, grandfather, brother and world traveler, passed away peacefully on November 22, 2024, at the age of 104. We ask that you join us for a celebration of life on Wednesday 11/27/2024 2pm CST at the Washburn-McReavy Seman Chapel, 1827 Coon Rapids Blvd, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.
Al was the fifth child of John and Katherine Monus and had ten brothers and one sister - of which three still survive. He was married to Bernice Isabel Peterson in 1953 and is survived by his son Paul Albert Monus and his granddaughter Katherine Ann Monus. His other son Gerald John passed away in 2002.
Born on the farm in rural Bekevar / Kipling Saskewan, Al left home at age 14, the first to go beyond an 8th grade education in the family and paid his own way to attend Prince Albert Collegiate Institute ('high school' tuition was not free then) from 1934 to 1938. From 1938 to 1940 Al attended Saskatoon Bible College. In the Fall of 1940, Al travelled to Ontario, from Alberta, and worked on a tobacco farm to earn money to pay for McMaster University. From 1940 to 1943 Al studied at McMaster University, with General Arts focus.
While at McMaster University, he also began preaching at the Welland, Ontario Hungarian Baptist church, and was surprised that they invited him to be their pastor (Al was only 21 yrs old), which he accepted... so he was doing pastoral work also, while continuing with University.
Al became concerned about teaching within the university and church that he could not support and began taking a stand against 'liberalism'. He began to speak out publicly in support of biblical teaching about creation, the authority of scripture, and a literal interpretation.
Late in 1943, he made the decision to confront McMaster University about their teaching about evolution and challenged the Hungarian Baptist church over doctrinal and life practices. He resigned as pastor there in this context. At about that time the government of Canada drafted him to join the Army (it was late 1943, and WWII was still going on). The Canadian government had a provision to become a conscientious objector, so Al and his brother Gordon (who also had been drafted) decided to do that vs. joining the Army. These events put a pause on his university studies.
Al and Gordon went to a work camp up north, in Chalk River Ontario, to serve his country by doing forestry, and spent the next three years working there (1944, 1945, and part of 1946). Al discovered he had an interest and talent with carpentry and woodworking, and evolved his job into 'forestry carpenter' - his job was to sharpen saws and axes and other forestry tools.
Once Al was released from government service at the Forestry Camp, he wondered what he was going to do with his life.... he was age 26 at that point. He moved back to Toronto to find work and joined a foreign missionary society called WEC [Worldwide Evangelization Crusade]. Al had felt that he had a 'call 'to be a missionary to India, starting at age 12. This crystalized into a decision to apply for service as a missionary with WEC, in India. Meanwhile, his brother Gordon had been at the Forestry camp with him also applied for membership in WEC and decided to go to Liberia - on the west coast of Africa.
1946 to 1948 were years of preparation for going to India for Al. He raised 'support' for his ministry there, traveling to many churches across Canada and the US. Al was sent to WEC headquarters In Chicago and met his wife Bernice there. She was in Chicago working at Elim Baptist Church as a child worker. Bernice had been studying at Bethel College in St. Paul MN, and knew the man who became Pastor of Elim Baptist in Chicago, who had been assigned there, Dr. Carl Lundquist.
Bernice had also been looking for an avenue to serve as a missionary to India. Her sister Loretta had planned to go as a missionary to India but became very ill. While on her on deathbed, Loretta asked her sister Bernice to go to India in her place. Loretta died at age 18, from a respiratory disease, and Bernice made a pledge to Loretta that she'd go in her stead.
WEC mission had a dinner at Elim Baptist Church to recruit missionaries for service with WEC, and Al was at this same dinner - this is where Al and Bernice met. It was 1947. Bernice and Al dated, but didn't commit to getting married right away.
The requirements of the mission were strict, for married people. They preferred single people to go. Had Al married Bernice, WEC would not have accepted them going to India since they didn't know the language (Hindi). Rather than get married right away, before going to India, both Al and Bernice focused on learning Hindi, to fulfill the WEC requirements, and planned to marry once they were both in India. It was agreed that Al would travel over first, and Bernice would follow later.
In Sept 1948 Al left for India on a freighter, SS Allegheny Victory, with fellow WEC missionary Marlin Summers. Travel to India took 30 days, via London and Suez Canal, to Bombay. Marlin had also been training for India WEC service. The ship stopped many times, but the same ship went all the way from USA to India. Upon arrival in Bombay, Al and Marlin reported to WEC HQ in Fatehpur, which was a long train journey north and east (808 miles). Al's possessions consisted of 3 suitcases.
Al began his missionary service up in the mountain towns of north India; Dumariagunj was the original WEC outpost in India. Al learned several languages: Hindi, some Urdu, and a 'hill language' - a Nepali dialect. Al worked with two other missionaries and aimed to deliver Bibles to Tibet. Meanwhile, Bernice continued language training in Chicago, which she found difficult. Additionally, WEC didn't want to release Bernice, as they were having difficulty obtaining staff, esp. with her book-keeping skills. So WEC leadership tried to keep her from going to India as long as possible, despite Bernice's desire to go to India and to marry Al. She remained in Chicago from 1948 to 1951, when she was finally cleared to travel to India to join Al.
In late June 1951 Bernice traveled to India, arriving at Bombay. Al was aware of her arrival details, via letters, but wasn't able to travel from the remote village he was at in North India to meet her in Bombay. Bernice made the journey across India from Bombay to Fatehpur herself, with another missionary, Ida Howell. They worked in different parts of India from 1951 to 1953 when they were married.
After a Honeymoon in Kashmir, Al and Bernice went to Fatehpur to collect their stuff, and then went 200 miles to a different mission station in Bansi UP, north and east again. Bansi is on the way to the high mountains, and Katmandu. At Bansi, the missionaries were nearly all women. Al and Bernice stayed in the servant's quarters of the Prince of Bansi.
The following year, WEC leadership asked Al and Bernice to leave Bansi and go to Shotratgarh along with two other missionaries, Ken and Lucille Getty, to preach. Shohratgarh was near the border with Nepal and high Himalayas, only 140 mi from Kathmandu. Travelling by elephant was 'normal' - the only way to cross some of the rivers.
Bernice became pregnant with Paul by late 1954, and they moved to Mussoorie, another town in the Uttar Pradesh province. Upon arrival in Mussoorie, Al and Bernice first stayed with some other missionaries, but later moved into the upstairs apartment above the bookstore they'd be working at. Mussoorie is a 'hill station' at 8000 foot elevation that offered respite from the hot climate in the plains below, and had a good climate, except for Monsoon Season. Paul was born in Mussoorie in August 1955.
While Al was in Mussoorie, the Dali Lama of Tibet came to town. He had crossed over into northern India to escape threats to his life and visited the bookstore where Al was working. Bernice made tea for him and his sister, and Al shared his faith and gave him some Christian books and a bible written in the Tibetan language. While continuing to preach, Al saw that his efforts could be multiplied by the power of the written word within books.
In November 1955, Al sold his car to the CLC (Christian Literature Crusade Mission) before returning to the USA for 'furlough'. Al had been in India continuously for 7 years at that point, and Bernice for 5 years. The family took a train from Dehra Dun to Bombay (Mumbai) to catch the boat. Al, Bernice, and Paul sailed from Bombay to Italy, and then to USA on the Christofero Columbo.
After arrival in New York, Al, Bernice, and Paul took a train to Minneapolis. Carol and Ardelle Peterson came to meet the train, and brought them to Trade Lake, WI. This was the first time Al met any of Bernice's relatives.
The young family stayed in the main house with Carol and Ardelle until the Red Cabin on the Birchwood Beach resort could be winterized a bit. Al, Bernice and Paul moved in what had been a summer-only cabin to live from early December 1955 until March 1956. There was no toilet inside, and no running water at that time, and weather was very cold. Al worked with Carol at the Sawmill at Trade Lake.
Al wanted to introduce Bernice and Paul to his parents and other family, so he purchased a car, and drove to Saskatchewan (a distance of over 1,000 miles from Minneapolis). After a brief visit to Prince Albert SK, Al and family stopped in Regina SK, to introduce Bernice to his brother Elmer and wife Jackie.
By 1956, even the youngest sibling (Lil) was over 21 and had departed the Homestead. Al took Bernice and Paul to Three Hills AB, to visit Vic and Lil (378 miles). Lil was studying at Three-Hills Bible college, and Vic also was there. After visiting there, Al continued to Saskatoon, bringing Vic and Lil along (312 miles journey from Three Hills).
Al had been hoping for financial support from churches there, but instead found disinterest.
After the visit to Al's relatives in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the family drove back to Chicago to study at Moody Bible Institute (MBI). Al focused on learning methods for printing literature and distribution. While there at MBI, Al and Bernice decided on a new approach when they returned to India, focused on literature and bookstores. They decided to join CLC (Christian Literature Crusade) and leave WEC.
Before leaving for India again, the family made a second trip to Western Canada, to say farewell to Al's relatives. With stops in Saskatoon (to visit brother Mike & wife Esther), Leask (to see Al's father and mother), and Pambrun Bible College (in southern Sask to visit brother Vic & his wife Anita). Vic had decided to join SIL (summer institute of linguistics) and introduced Al to Dr. Richard Pittman, who was teaching the short course on linguistics. After this encounter with linguistics Vic decided to start as a missionary in Northwest Territories at Great Slave Lake, Canada, with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Al would later join Wycliffe also - this was his first introduction to their work (1957). The last part of the trip was with his brother Gordon and wife Esther in Seattle.
Along the way, Al preached in various churches and sought financial support for his work. He found that church folk were not excited to learn anything about India or what Al / Bernice had been doing away - a disappointment. But they continued anyway.
Al and Bernice had decided to fly to India, vs. travel by boat. The route was from Seattle to Anchorage Alaska, to Adak in the Aleutian Islands, to Tokyo, to Hong Kong, to Rangoon Burma, to Calcutta, and finally to Madras India - a trip lasting over 3 days of continuous flying. It was April 1957, and Bernice was 2 months pregnant with her second child (Gerald). There were bad storms, so during the flight from Japan to Hong Kong, the pilot had to make an unscheduled emergency stop in Okinawa to allow the weather to improve.
International air travel wasn't very advanced in 1957, and aircraft had limited range. The total trip of 9,479 air miles required 7 stop-overs enroute for refueling. Upon arrival in Madras Bernice worked on sales and bookkeeping, and Al operated the CLC bookstore there. They lived 3 miles from the Ocean.
Shortly after arrival, Al developed jaundice (a liver disease) which took a month to get over. Jaundice can occur when too much bilirubin builds up in the body and may happen when there are too many red blood cells dying or breaking down (hemolysis) and going to the liver. The liver is then overloaded or damaged. At this same time Bernice developed an infection in her feet and had to be hospitalized. Al was very ill but stayed home with two-year old Paul. I remember hearing from my mother Bernice that it wasn't clear that Al would recover, and she believed God had helped heal him. In November 1957 Al's second son Gerald was born.
On Al's first tour in India, Al and Bernice had been in North India, but upon return to India in 1957, they were in South India - in Tamil Nadu. After the birth of Gerald, CLC asked Al and Bernice to take over running the bookstore in 'Ooty' (Ootacamond). They travelled 338 miles from Madras by train. They lived in a former Hospital, that had fallen into disrepair. From December to March 1958, they renovated rooms and eventually were able to rent out other rooms to other missionaries. They named the Hospital, Selborne House, and it eventually had 8 living quarters. Al and Bernice did a lot of renovation. 9 months after they been in Ooty, their baggage shipped to India finally arrived. In July 1958, they moved out of Selborne House to Farley - a small cottage 1 mile from the Union Church bookstore in Ooty. From 1958 to 1963 the family worked and lived in various villages in southern India. Eventually they lived in Kotagiri, another town near Conoor and 'Ooty' (Ootacamond).
Al and the family returned to USA in 1964, for more training in linguistics, sociology, and language translation. In 1965 the family traveled to Mexico for 4 months to undergo 'jungle camp' - a preparation for living in remote locations where self-reliance is required. Al raised money for his return to India and worked at various jobs prior to returning to India in 1967, sailing on the Queen Mary to England and then the Orcades to Bombay. Mid journey, while in the Suez canal, the six day war broke out between Egypt and Israel, the ship was turned back to Gibraltar. After weighing options, the decision was made to continue on the ship, which then sailed around Africa, with stops in the Canary Islands, Capetown, and Durban, prior to crossing the Indian ocean.
Paul and Gerald attended boarding school at Kodaikanal in South India and visited Al and Bernice on holidays in Poona. In 1969, the Indian government cancelled all visas for US citizens, which forced the family to return to USA. The return journey was via Bombay and then a flight to Tel Aviv. A layover offered a chance to visit Jerusalem and the old city, wailing wall, and other biblical landmarks. The aftermath of the six-day war was still evident along the roadsides.
Upon return to USA, Al and family lived in Duncanville, near Dallas Texas, and worked with Wycliffe missionaries at the International Linguistic Center there, where he shared his learning and insights with new people who were preparing to go out for the first time. This is a kind of specialized college, that offers the needed coursework and practical help needed for bible translation.
Eventually, Al and Bernice retired from Wycliffe, and returned to Minnesota, to be closer to relatives. Al worked for Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, in shipping and receiving, and was active in church work. He also did translation for the Billy Graham organization.
In 2008, he started a 501C3 corporation to raise funds for a ministry in Pakistan, that was in support of orphaned children. He made two more missionary journeys in late life, in 2008 and 2012. This ministry continues today, and many children have been housed, fed, and educated by this effort. Al was fearless and determined. He believed that God would protect him, and provide for him, even in difficult circumstances. He also never complained of pain or inconvenience. While in Pakistan, in his 90's, he slept on a cement floor, with a thin blanket, as this was the way all others were living there. He suffered stomach illness, respiratory illness, and no doubt felt very poorly, but this didn't deter him. While preaching to a large crowd on his last trip to Pakistan in 2012, a group of Islamic agitators came to break up the public meeting. The shot AK-47 rifles into the air and told him to stop preaching. His response was to say 'shoot me if you want, but I'm not stopping' - in the local language (which he spoke). This courage was notable, as it empowered others to stand and not run, and the agitators later left without having success in their attempts to break up the gathering.
Another event was notable. There was a terrorist bombing nearby to where Al and Tanveer were staying, and the blast was strong enough that Al remembered being knocked over by the shock wave. The bombing was about a kilometer away, but still very strong. Even this did not deter him from wanting to continue the work there. I eventually was able to get him a flight back to the USA via Kuwait, and Tan helped him get to the airport at Lahore by disguising him to look like a local. Americans were not in favor in that area of Pakistan, and if the crowd would have caught him, they might have tortured or killed him.
Al eventually moved into Epiphany Assisted Living, in Coon Rapids, in 2015 - at age 95. He finally stopped driving after crashing his car on black ice, coming back late at night from collecting money as a Salvation Army bell ringer. Winter-time in Minnesota is dark and roads are often icy. His car was totalled and he switched to public transport from then on.
Al used to travel alone by airplane until he was age 103. A funny story about this was in 2022, when flying to visit me in Houston Texas, I got a call from Delta airlines. The agent told me over the phone that Al couldn't be given a boarding pass, since he was an 'unaccompanied minor.' I asked the agent to look at him... 'does he look like a two-year old?' The computer had taken his birthdate of 7/5/1920 and made it into 7/5/20 - and the last two digits were then implied to be '2020' - which would have made him a two-year old. I asked the Delta staff to use their common sense and print the boarding pass, and that my Dad travelled unaccompanied like anyone else who was an adult.
In 2019, the family began having week-long celebrations for Al, over the week that his birthday occurred. This provided an excuse for relatives and friends to get together, not only to celebrate each of his birthdays, but to just be together. We all agreed that we need to find more reasons and excuses to stop being busy and running around doing what we do, and just spend more time together visiting and learning about each other's lives. We took a break from these events in 2020 during the covid pandemic, but continued in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Each year we tried to do something fun and interesting - for him, and for all of us also. We always went to a Twins game, and in 2023 and 2024 the Twins honored my Dad by calling attention to him in the stands and putting him up on the jumbotron. The manager of the ballpark came to our seats, in the accessible section, and gave him an autographed baseball - signed by Kent Hrbeck - who had helped the Twins win the world series in 1987. Al was also in Minute Maid park in Houston with me and a group of family members when the Astros won the ALCS, which propelled the Astros to their world series win in 2017. He yelled loudly with the crowd, and hit the seats in front with his cane, to celebrate.
My Dad loved baseball.
In 2023, his health began to decline. In August, after a number of unexplained falls, it was finally discovered that his heart wasn't functioning as it should, and he had pacemaker surgery. Once he had the pacemaker, he perked up, stopped fainting, and recovered. His blood pressure had been dropping into the low 30s prior to the surgery. This surgery led to needing a permanent catheter, when he couldn't restore normal function after the pacemaker surgery. This led to another surgery for a 'supra-pubic' catheter (direct from his bladder instead of the normal urinary tract route. He had prostate cancer 25 years ago, and the radioactive seeds used to fight the prostate cancer caused bleeding and clots when a normal foley catheter had been in place. He adapted to this new way of living, never complained. In October 2023, he needed a second surgery on his esophagus, to open it up. He suffered from 'dysphagia' - which led to inability to swallow. Some scary moments of choking and not being able to breath made this surgery necessary. By November all was sort of normal again.
2024 brought more challenges. His hearing declined and many trips to the audiologist to work on his hearing aids led to somewhat improved hearing, but it was clear that his hearing was lessening. Al became a 'lip reader' - per his audiologist. Unfortunately for his neighbors at Epiphany, he often ran his TV at volume 100! I got him Bluetooth headphones to help reduce this, but his use of them was hit and miss. Dental work in 2024 revealed some infection in the bone above two large molars in his mouth, and the fix was worse than the risk, so he lived with that. After a great period of feeling good from December 2023 to July 2024, August 2024 began his eventual end of life struggle.
Anyone with a supra-pubic catheter is at risk of a UTI (uterine tract infection). This is a constant risk for people with catheters. He developed a UTI on September 17, 2024, that became septic. Al was hospitalized for a week at Mercy Hospital and on powerful anti-biotics to fight the sepsis. This damaged his kidneys further, which were already functioning poorly. He recovered from the UTI, but blood work indicated he now had leukemia. His oncologist told me that he had CML (Chronic Myolitic Leukemia), a slow growing form of the blood cancer. She was optimistic that he could live a long time with this condition, but the blood work indicated that his white blood cells were too high, and red blood cells (needed for oxygen transport) were too low.
October was a good month - I came to visit again, and we visited the north woods cabin of Byron and Cindy Gigler, up on Park Lake, near Duluth. The leaves were turning color, and it was beautiful. I returned to Minnesota November 12, 2024 to take Dad to normal doctor check-ups, which went well. However, by Thursday November 14, he was becoming ill again, with a UTI. I took him to Mercy Medical Center for blood work, which confirmed suspicions of UTI. The hospital started anti-biotics right away that evening, but my Dad began a very rapid decline. The same oncologist who had given a positive outlook for his CML (slow growing leukemia), told me that he now had switched to an 'acute' form of leukemia - meaning it was fast growing. His white and red blood cell counts changed very fast, and he lost the ability to talk, swallow or eat, by Saturday November 16.
I sat vigil, and many of Al's friends came to pray for him and be with him. By Monday Nov 18, the doctors (who were GREAT) told me that is was likely he wouldn't recover. So after fighting off so many illnesses in his life, this looked and felt different. It was clear my Dad could see and recognize us, but couldn't talk or swallow food. He declined food and water and slept a lot of the time. On Tuesday Nov 19, Sharone Matheson organized a 'saying goodbye' session to say what we wanted to say, and to give Al permission to go home to be with God. A lot of people came in person, and some by FaceTime, and the event lasted over 3.5 hours, with each person saying what they wanted to. Al didn't speak, but his eyes were alert and it was clear he was aware. We cried a lot.
On Wednesday Nov 20, Al rallied, and suddenly regained ability to speak, swallow, and sit up. He was alert most of the day, and drank and ate for the first time in days. It was so great to hear him tell the nurses "you have the wrong date on the white board" and "it is snowing outside" and "Paul, can you order some soup for me?" Wow. He spoke the names of people... just their name. I asked him if he wanted to talk to them, and he would nod. I FaceTimed several people and he spoke to them, giving a message of encouragement - most notably that these people were loved by him. This rally lasted most of the day Wednesday and part of Thursday Nov 21. What made this remarkable was that the hospital had called me on Monday night, alerting me that he was crashing, and I had spent most of the night sitting in a chair next to his bed, wanting to be there for him when he passed.
So, to see this rally was amazing. It was God's gift to us. I wonder what my Dad was seeing and thinking at this time...Darla Baker sent a note from my Dad's wife Bernice's sister Linda (Linda Peterson Anderson - wife of Ken Anderson). Linda messaged us the following: "Thank you for all the updates. It brings me back to thinking of our Moms. Two nights before Mom [my mother's stepmother, Linda's mother) died she "kind of woke up" and said she was torn as she wanted to go and yet she wanted to stay on earth. She felt she was a part of each. She described heaven as beautiful and ' oh the music!!'. There were so many people waiting to get through the gates that she had to be patient and wait. Some people go in the blink of an eye (your Mom?? [Bernice]) and others must wait. When the gates opened Ray Hughes was there. Mom saw Daddy, Grandma Richter and Alice, among others. The many-year sore on Grandma's leg was healed. I was so blessed that Bobby and your Mom were with me that night. I'm thinking of Al and Paul and all of you and sending prayers for another blessed family gathering in heaven. Please give my prayers to all gathering. Love Linda and Ken"
Thank you Linda for this encouraging note! I read this to my Dad, during his rally, and he understood it. I asked him whether he also was in a 'waiting room' in between heaven and earth.... He didn't answer, but there were many occasions when he would switch his gaze from me or others in the room to some far away looking focus; he would raise his hands as if to embrace someone or to give praise - this felt like he as in that other world. Then he'd come back into the room and be with us. So, it was a similar experience without the verbalization of what he was seeing.
The way Al passed is the last thing I want to share. My cousin Sue Barber and her husband John were in Calgary, spending time with John's youngest sister who was hospice there with colon cancer. They messaged us that they'd be flying through MSP enroute back home to Newburyport Mass., where they live, and asked us to meet them at MSP during a layover between flights from Calgary and onward flight to Boston. So on the morning my Dad passed, I wasn't at his bedside - I was with them at the airport visiting. I think this was a 'God-thing' as I was about at my limit for grieving with and for my Dad. So this was the only time I wasn't there, and this was the time God chose for him to pass. Lucas Ussatis, a friend of my Dad from his church, and some others were present with him at that time, and Lucas was playing his violin for my Dad at his bedside. The song Lucas was playing was 'Nearer my God, to Thee.' I don't think anyone can have a better way to pass than this. At the end of the song, Lucas reported that my Dad sort-of smiled at him, and then stopped breathing. He passed away peacefully and is now with God.
Al's memory will forever live on in the hearts of his family and all those who were fortunate enough to know him. He was an inspiration, a beacon of love, and demonstrated servant leadership to all who he came into contact with. He will be missed. But he is in a better place, and we can take comfort in that.
We ask that you join us for a celebration of life on Wednesday 11/27/2024 3pm CST with a visitation from 2 to 3pm at the Washburn-McReavy Seman Chapel, 1827 Coon Rapids Blvd, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.
If your unable to attend the The Celebration of life in person you can watch the live stream that will begin at 3pm - here is a link to the live stream: https://www.washburn-mcreavy.com/obituaries/Louis-Monus/#!/PhotosVideos
Another celebration of Al Monus life and legacy will be held in Pakistan on Friday 11/29 at 0730 CT. People can join on the zoom link below. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84129131686?pwd=ehokFkmwyZ5G3MsEvXyroqh7t5aQor.1
To Donate Saviors Mission International please go to: https://smi.aplos.org/Page/18450