Walter Monk

WALTER DALE MONK of Pipestone, MN, died Thursday, April 13, 2017, at the Pipestone County Hospice House at the age of 83 years, 11 months, and five days. He was born May 8, 1933, to parents Walter and Nancy Elizabeth (Hammer) Monk near Ward, South Dakota, and grew up on the family farm near Ward. He joined the United States Army as a young adult and served in the Korean War in 1952 and 1953, working as an operating room technician for a MASH unit. He attended college in Springfield, South Dakota, and lived for a time in Colorado, Texas, and Kansas. His employment during those years included working at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, and at Boeing Aircraft as an electronics technician, where his duties included working in their lab and inspecting bombing and navigation systems. After returning to his home area in southwest Minnesota and southeast South Dakota, he engaged in farming. Walter married Edythe Hinrichs, his wife of 51 years, on January 15, 1966 in Elkton, South Dakota. They farmed together until 1973, and then moved into Pipestone and began purchasing houses that needed extensive remodeling and repairs. They did almost all of the work themselves, and then sold or rented the properties. They took on projects that would seem daunting to the “house flip” stars on today’s reality TV shows. Some of these projects involved moving entire houses on flatbed trailers to new locations, and tearing down buildings to salvage lumber for new projects. Walter enjoyed fishing and hunting in his early years. By mid-life, his hunting interests took a new turn when he purchased his first metal detector. He could often be seen in and around Pipestone and the outlying communities, scanning the ground and digging up buried treasures. He had been known to say that it was more satisfying to find 50 cents than it was to earn 50 dollars.

Walter is survived by his wife, Edythe; his children, Walter (Annette) Monk III of Arlington, TX, Teresa (Craig) Wiegel of Bettendorf, IA, and Joan (Roxy) Potter of Salem, IL; his son-in-law Jerry Hellwinckel of Pipestone, MN; siblings, Lorna Burke, of Willow Lake, SD, James (Peggy) Monk of Pipestone, MN, Jean Knutson of Mission Hills, SD; brother-in-law, Harold Erks of Minneapolis, MN; grandchildren, Angela (Michael) Stadnik of Waterford, NY, Sherry Monk of Burleson, TX, Jessica (Tom) Husman of Sioux Falls, SD, Brandy (Dan) Derrick who are exploring the world in a sailboat, Nathan (Sonja) Jefferson of Broomfield, CO, Shawna (Seth) Kracht of Pipestone, MN, Ginger (Michael) Crafton of Hoboken, NJ, Gabriel Potter of West Hartford, CT, Hunter Monk, of Austin, TX, and Julia Baar Monk of Arlington, TX; and six great-grandchildren, Evan and Jenna Stadnik, Jasper and Bennett Husman, Shaeden Kracht, and Lily Jefferson. Walter was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Patricia (Monk) Hellwinckel; grandson, Douglas Wiegel; brothers, Paul and Fred Monk; sister, Bonnie Erks; and brothers-in-law, Daryl Burke, and Jack Knutson.

Go Twins!!