Kathleen J. Monks, 87, Marion, passed away at 6:30 am on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, at Colonial Oaks Health & Rehabilitation Center in Marion. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, March 2, 1935, to Donald and Mary (Hyland) Smith.
Kathleen graduated from Bloomington High School in 1952 and went on to further her education at IU for two years. She graduated from St. Vincent’s School of Nursing in Indianapolis in 1957. On January 24, 1959, she married the love of her life, Donald E. Monks. She started her nursing career at the Marion VA Hospital from 1957-1959. She then worked as the Assistant Director at Bradner Village from 1975-2005.
Kathleen enjoyed volunteering at St. Paul Catholic Church, where she was a member. She was also a leader for both Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, and she tutored at Kendall Elementary School. She was an avid reader and did knitting from time to time.
Survivors include her children, Elizabeth (Sidney) Horner of Amboy, Carol (Steve) Whiteley of Upland, Patrick (Mychele) Monks of Fairmount, Ellen (Ben) Killham of Fort Wayne, and Tim (Alex) Monks of Marion; 19 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren with 2 on the way; brother, Patrick (Shari) Smith; sister, Mary Jeanne (George Schneider) Smith; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents.
The family will receive visitors from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral Service, North Chapel, 1341 N. Baldwin Ave., Marion, IN.
On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, a Funeral Mass to celebrate Kathleen’s life will take place at 11:00 am at St. Paul Catholic Church, 1031 W. Kem Rd., Marion, IN. Father Ted Rothrock will be officiating with burial following at Grant Memorial Park.
Memorial contributions may be directed to St. Martins DePorres Center, 901 S. Branson St., Marion, IN 46953 or American Parkinson’s Disease Association, P.O. Box 61420, Staten Island, NY 10306.
Memories may be shared online at www.nswcares.com. To send flowers to the family of Kathleen, please visit our floral store.