Walter Parkinson Monson
[Kris' Note: Well, guess what? Prayers are answered and we now have a history of Walter Parkinson Monson, the eldest child, to add to this blog. Walter's granddaughter Karla scanned and uploaded into FamilySearch an old typewritten biographical sketch of Uncle Walt. She thinks it was written and read at his funeral by one of his siblings, so that means Weldon, Blanche, Maurice or Keyne because the rest were gone by 1969 when Walt died. And Blanche is referenced in the third person, so she probably wasn't the author. I transcribed it and will include it in this post. I'm so happy! There are many details of his life that are left out of this account, no doubt, because it's so brief. It glosses over heartache and difficulties that were probably devastating and cataclysmic at the time.
He played the violin!
This mentions the happy times at 2521 Van Buren Ave., Ogden, Utah. This nice home still stands in good repair in a lovely old neighborhood not too far from Weber State University.
My father told me that Uncle Walt was once the real estate agent on the sale of the historic Willard Hotel in Washington DC.
Of the ten Monson children, we now have histories of nine of them. The third child, Elna Rose, died as a baby in 1900 or 1901. She didn't live long enough to have much history -- however, my father told me that Grandmother Leona told him that taking her little girl in a pine casket to the cemetery was the most difficult thing she ever had to do in her life. I'm sure that was probably equalled later by having to bury her little son Richard as well. Also, Elna Rose died about the same time as her young Monson aunt and uncle (Walter's brother and sister) in a diphtheria epidemic that swept through Preston and Franklin. They both died on the same day. Horrifying. The account of this terrible time is written in a letter to Hyrum Monson on FamilySearch in Memories under Ellen Persson Manssen, my great-grandmother. Elna Rose is also mentioned for her profound role in Walter Peter Monson's near-death experience. She is an important member of this family. As is every member of this wonderful and complex family.
Nice to get to know you, Uncle Walter.]
Walter Parkinson Monson
Biographical Account – Walter Parkinson Monson
Walter was born August 9, 1896 in Franklin, Idaho, son of
Walter Peter and Leona Parkinson Monson, the eldest of ten children.
Most of his young boyhood was spent in Preston, Idaho, where
he attended school. His father was in
the lumber business, and was also very active in the church. He served an L.D.S. mission to Portland,
Oregon, when Walter was just a tot, before Venna was born. When Walter was 13 the Monson family, then
numbering six, set sail with their mother, Leona, for London, England, to join
their father in his last year of missionary service there as conference
president.
After their return, Walter, Sr. affiliated with the Eccles
Lumber Company in Ogden, Utah, as part of management. This wonderful era at 2521 Van Buren Avenue
was long to be remembered. Walter
regaled in a particularly good circle of friends who loved outdoor sports and added much joviality
to the Monson household. Walter also
enjoyed his violin, which he played quite well to his sister Venna’s
accompaniment.
His father got another call, this time to preside over the
Eastern States Mission. The mission
office was in New York City. Walter was
seventeen, Venna fifteen, and on down the line, and at these ages the changeover
to a strictly urban eastern way of life without the friends they had grown up
with was not an easy adjustment.
However, with the passing of time the mission field became increasingly
meaningful to these children, and the spirit of loyalty and devotion among the
Saints made its impression. The
missionaries joined in as part of the family and they all enjoyed some
wonderful times together.
Walter studied architecture at Pratt College in New York
City and subsequently was called on a mission to the southern states under
President Charles A. Callis. He
fulfilled an honorable mission and on his way home he met Duchess Hodges in the
Washington D.C. Branch. They later
married and in due time had their marriage solemnized in the Salt Lake
Temple. Walter and Duchess lived in
Chevy Chase, Maryland, and he worked with Phillips Realty Company in
Washington, D.C. Walter did very well
and he liked Washington. However,
Duchess’ fragile and failing health brought on an early death and this of
course was a monumental loss to Walter.
After a time he met Jesina Allred of Raymond, Alberta,
Canada, who had just served a mission to the eastern states under President
Brigham H. Roberts. They later married
in the Alberta Temple and their marriage was blessed with three fine children,
Walene, Richard and Norman; and also thirteen grandchildren. Walene’s husband, Paul James, is a draftsman
and planner for a large aircraft company in Los Angeles, and Walene herself is
a fine mother and is active in civic affairs.
Richard filled a Canadian mission for the church and at present is the
vice-president of a national advertising company in New York. Norman is vice-president and comptroller for
Ramada Inn, a national chain with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The children were reared in Salt Lake City
where their father was engaged in real estate.
Jesina died in 1962, and Walter spent his remaining years in
Los Angeles where for awhile he wrote weekly real estate articles for a
magazine there, after his retirement from real estate. During his years of declining health, Walter
has been with his devoted daughter, Walene, in Los Angeles, except for when it
was necessary to be in a nearby rest home.
On December 23, 1969, Walter was called home.
Walt, as he was known, -- through his unusual warmth of
fellowship drew to him lifelong friends.
Those who have preceded him in death, as have many of his family, will
be rejoicing in their reunion with him.
* * * * * * * * *
Walt once included this in a letter to his sister, Blanche:
“Like an old tree, the world is hanging over a precipice,
supported only by its gnarled roots.
Suspended in a void like that, this old tree cannot last forever.
If we are to grow mighty – in Faith, we must take our roots
in the Spirit.
To learn how to live in peace with ourselves, with our
neighbors, with God – this is man’s paramount mission.”
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