George William Munroe

He was born in Baudette, MN on March 1, 1927. His mother always said he just missed having a leap year birthday. He had three siblings, Alan, Miles and Shirley Munroe. They lived in a small house with a big stove which was the only heat in the house. Bill told stories about his mother getting up in the middle of the night to keep wood in the stove so it wouldn't’t go out, tough life for a single mother of Four. He loved her cooking, cinnamon rolls, chocolate cake, spaghetti & meatballs, glorified rice…..He and his siblings always fought over the heels of Bread, because they were the best part!

Living in northern Minnesota was a hard life. He would tell tales of the Lake of the Woods freezing over and the town’s service clubs driving an old car out into the middle and taking bets on when it would fall thru. Or when the river would freeze over and they could walk to their aunt’s house on the other side. Or stories about the barrels of Lutefisk in town curing over the winter. (a story for another time!)

His mother moved to California to begin work for Douglas in Long Beach for the war. That’s when Bill moved here too. He wanted to join the service but his mother made him wait. He finally joined the Army and was posted in the Allution Islands. He said all the Minnesota boys went there, because they were used to the cold!

After the war, he was introduced to Beverly. Beverly Recalls:

“The first time I met Bill was on a blind date. We went to dinner and a movie & he took me home. He was very polite and didn’t try to kiss me. He said good night and I thought, well I won’t see him again! He didn’t ask me for another date or say he had a good time, so I was really surprised the next day when he came by where I worked, and he has been back every day since. What a dear heart!” They were married in 1956 and were married for 56 years. They had two children, Lisa and Richard. He worked as a butcher and then sold his butcher shop to work with his in laws, Ralph and Evelyn Jump at Evelyn’s Flowers.

He enjoyed his annual camping and fishing vacations, smoking his cigars and pipe, and loving his puppy dogs! He loved John Wayne Movies, playing solitaire, and enjoyed building woodworking projects with both Lisa and Richard. He was a Mason, Kiwanis member, in Indian guides with Richard and a community member in good standing. He helped with all the fund raising for his clubs and both Lisa and Richard’s schools and service clubs.

His Son in Law Jason remembers: Most of my favorite memories of dad are after he couldn't drive anymore. Taking him to Dr. appointments and the smoke shop gave me the time to spend with him. He loved the spring time driving around looking at the jacaranda trees in full bloom. I also got history lessons depending on what part of a city we were in,

Hearing stories about how it used to be in simpler times. Those stories I will truly miss.

When his Granddaughter Ashley came along he was ecstatic. He loved holding her and rocking her when she was a baby. As she grew he enjoyed all of her activities.

Ashley recalls: On the way to school one day, in 5th grade, we were driving to school and a motorcycle flew by us. He looked at me with a straight face and said, “If you ever ride a motorcycle I’ll disown you,” then just turned back to driving me to school. I know that sounds pretty harsh, but I knew exactly why he said that. He always wanted me to be safe and have nothing happen to me. He always told me I was his little girl and that he loved me more, which was always an argument of who could love who more.

Being with grandpa didn’t mean having an intense conversation. It could mean sitting outside while he smoked a cigar or his pipe and pet the dog, playing cards at the kitchen table, or him telling me a story about when he was younger. I don’t think anytime I think about him, he is without a cigar in a chair with a dog next to him, whether it was Dutchess, Goldie, or Ruby. He always was thinking about the next camping trip or asking me if I remembered what he had taught me about casting or tying the weight on the line. Grandpa taught me a lot of things, but the two that stuck with me the most were love your family and work hard for what you want in life. He showed me those every day, even if he did yell at grandma every once in a while.

Grandpa

His smile is warm as a summers day.

The love he gives is soft as a feather.

For me he always goes out of his way, even when he is under the weather.

The affection he gives me is more than anyone could ever wish for in life.

He is an amazing, wonderful man.

He may love me more than he loves his wife!

Minnesota is where he travels to every summer he visits his brother.

He always knows what to do, where to go.

Everything he knows, I want to know.

By Ashley Hartman

Grade 5