Monita May Lank

Monita May Thorp Lank was born on September 17, 1934 to Elda and Harry Thorp. She was a distant relative to the famous athlete, Jim Thorpe. Monita had two older brothers, Darrel and Don, and two younger sisters, Wilma and Jenny.

Monita met Psych Lank at a gas station when she was 17 years old. They married two years later on December 20, 1953. The two of them moved onto the former cucumber farm owned by Psych's parents and built onto the existing house. The addition allowed for a separate residence for Psych's parents. Monita and Psych designed their own furniture for the house. The furniture included coffee table in the shape of a whale, several end tables, and several sofas. The furniture is still in use today in their present house in Pennsylvania.

Monita attended Wichita State University where she received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physical Education. She later went on to receive her Ph.D. in Physical Education at The University of Iowa in 1967. Her first job after receiving her B.S. degree was at Mount Carmel Academy High School in Wichita, Kansas. The school actually called her to offer her the job because educational requirements changed and they needed a qualified physical education teacher.

After leaving Wichita and other places because of her husband's job transfers, Monita went to work at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Bethune Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida, and then West Chester State University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Monita was a full professor at West Chester State University for over 30 years, and during some of those years she also served as Chair of the Department of Kinesiology.

Monita loved animals and especially cats. She and Psych generally had at least one cat all the time after they were married. Because people would drop cats they were abandoning off near their present house, both she and Psych set up their front porch to accommodate abandoned cats and keep them warm during the winter.

Monita and Psych had two children; Rhonda (Ken) and Rodger; three grandchildren; Brandon, Trevor, and Shaina. They were married for 69 years until Psych's death in March, 2023. When asked how they stayed together so long, Monita would say, "It's the chemistry" and Psych would say "It's Physical". This was an inside joke between them with Psych having a graduate degree in chemistry and Monita having a graduate degree in Physical Education.

Monita was proceeded in death by her parents Elda and Harry Thorp; her husband, Psych; her brothers, Darrel and Don; and her sisters, Wilma and Jenny.

She is survived by her children, Rhonda (Ken) and Rodger; her grandchildren, Brandon, Trevor, and Shaina; and 8 cats.

A Funeral Service will be held at 1 PM on Friday, December 19, 2025 at The White-Luttrell Funeral Home, 3551 Concord Rd., Aston where relatives and friends may call after 1 PM. Burial will take place at a later date at Udall Cemetery in Udall, KS.

Memorial gifts to Forgotten Cats at https://forgottencats.org/ or the Elam Methodist Church, 1073 Smithbridge Rd., Glen Mills, Pennsylvania 19342 would be appreicated.