Earl Monroe

Monroe, Earl Crawford â age 92 passed away Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006, in the Greeley County Hospital. Earl was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Tribune and helped build the current church sanctuary in the early 1950's. Earl was born in Lyons, KS, on June 12, 1913, and lived with his family on their farm 12 miles northwest of Lyons. His mother and father had three children; Elma, Betty, and Earl. Earl farmed in Rice County beginning with his dad behind a draft horse and plow. After attending high school in Bushton, KS, he attended Hutchison Junior College and spent two years in the Army National Guard. He started farming in Greeley County in the summer of 1948. He "suitcase farmed" during the summers of 1948, '49 and '50. In the late summer of 1950 he moved his family to a home in Tribune where they lived until 1959 when they moved to the former Ochsner farm three miles north of Tribune where Melba, his wife of 67 years, still lives. Earl was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association and hand made numerous hunting rifles for his own use and for his children. Earl was an avid hunter and loved to hunt all kinds of game from water fowl and upland game-birds to small and big game mammals. He has hunted in all corners of Kansas and Colorado as well as in Wyoming and other states. Some of his favorite hunting experiences were with his Greeley County friends when they camped and hunted in the National Forests of Colorado and Wyoming. After Earl retired from farming at age 72 he and Melba traveled south every year to spend the winter in their fifth-wheel travel trailer. For over fifteen years they would alternately spend four months of each winter in McAllen, TX, or Yuma, AZ. Earl and Melba also traveled extensively throughout the years by automobile, RV, rail and water to other locations in all of the 50 states as well as in Canada and Mexico. Earl was preceded in death by his sister Elma Mount and son Craig Monroe. He is survived by his wife Melba, daughter Carol Bloesser of Tribune, son Bill Monroe and wife Lee of Norris, TN, and sister Betty Ericsson of Pittsburg, CA. He is also survived by four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and numerous other relatives. The family expresses their deep appreciation for the doctors and staff at Greeley County Hospital as well as other friends who have helped to comfort Earl and family members during the last days of his life. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Tribune on Saturday, March 25th, at 10:30 o'clock Mountain Time. The burial will be at the Greeley County Cemetery south of Tribune immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the National Rifle Association, NRA Processing Center, P. O. Box 420648, Palm Coast, and FL 32142-0648 or to St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Tribune, KS 67879. The family will receive friends immediately following the burial at the Catholic Church Parish Hall.