♥꧁⁀ꀤ ꒒ꂦꃴꍟ ꌩꂦꀎ!! ⁀꧂♥

Recent notes found (by Joe Pete's Mom)

Joe Pete, my handsome baby, is quiet, thoughtful, good tempered and not too critical. His real gift is understanding people. Steady, dependable, loveable - he is my good rock.

June Zilles Monahan

༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ Thanks so much to Kerstin, who sponsored this page and Tami for posting pictures and Angel of Mine Valencia Asia for the lovely token! ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻

༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ I sincerely thank all for the lovely flowers or tokens for my husband!! If I don't get to your loved ones, it isn't because I don't care. It's because I am unable!! I love you!! ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻

༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ My Wonderful Husband - Your wife forever - Until the end of time and then some!! ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻

𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓙𝓸𝓮 𝓟𝓮𝓽𝓮!! 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮!! 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓲𝓯𝓮 - 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻!! 𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓸 𝓶𝓾𝓬𝓱!!

DO NOT TAKE MY PICTURES AND PUT THEM ON OTHER MEMORIALS!! NO ANONYMOUS FLOWERS!!

Feb 5, 2024

Joe Pete, today it's been 6 months since you held my hand. But you will hold my heart forever and then some!!! Like until the end of time!!!

What if my whole world feel apart. What would I do? My whole world did fall apart when I lost you.

You have to go on. You have no choice.

Joe Pete wrote in one of his many letters, that he didn't want anything to happen to me. That he would be lost. That is how I feel. Lost...

I can't thank you friends enough for the flowers!

Our wedding anniversary: March 16, 1966

Joe Pete Monahan was the 5th child and last child in the Monahan family.

He and his older brother Bill, grew up in Blackstone and went to Blackstone High School. His two older sisters had both moved out of the house, when Joe Pete came along. One sister, Margaret John, had died while the family was still living in West Virginia.

His family ran Greyhound Bus Station in Blackstone, Virginia for many years. When he was young, he helped out by cleaning the restrooms. He also sold tickets under his parents' training. He learned a great deal about the bus business from his parents which undoubtedly helped him as an adult when he went to work for Greyhound in Richmond, Virginia.

Joe Pete was with the Boy Scouts of America. In 1957, he went to a Jamboree in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He always fondly remembered that trip.

Joe Pete was always very athletic. He played football, baseball and basketball for most of his high school years at Blackstone High School. The 1961 football team won the Group II, District III Championship. He played Right End in the Starting Line up with the Rams football team.

An article concerning a baseball game was in the Richmond Times Dispatch dated April 14. (I don't have the year)

Tom Monohan singled and went on to score in the tenth inning here Tuesday to give Blackstone a 2-1 victory over Kenbridge in a Group II District 3 baseball thriller.

Mr. Monahan, his father, cut it out and wrote: "How wrong can you be?" Of course, Tom Monohan should have been Joe Monahan. But they often spelled his name wrong, even in the yearbooks.

When in high school he was in The Future Farmers of America and the Monagram Club.

He had milk cows and raised veal for a couple of years after getting out of the service.

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Obituary:

Joseph Peter "Joe Pete" Monahan, Sr., age 79, of Blackstone, VA passed away on Saturday, August 5, 2023. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Dale Adams Monahan and a son, Joseph Monahan, Jr. Joe Pete was preceded in death by a son, Shawn Patrick Monahan and his parents, William John and June Zilles Monahan.

He worked for 42 years and retired as a Manager of Greyhound Bus Lines of Richmond and was a U.S. Air Force veteran. Joe Pete loved working in his garden, yardwork, cutting firewood and was an avid outdoorsman. Most of all, he loved his family and their many trips together, near and far.

Funeral arrangements were by the Blackstone Chapel of Joseph McMillian Funeral Home, 1826 Cox Rd., Blackstone, VA 23824. www.mcmillianfuneralhome.com

https://www.mcmillianfuneralhome.com/obituary/joseph-monahan

Funeral was at 2:00 on August 16, 2023

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Funeral service as follows:

I, Dale Monahan and wife of Joe Pete spoke:

Joe Pete was not a religious person therefore I did not feel it appropriate for a preacher to do his funeral. I am going to try to speak and hope that I can get through it.

I would like to thank you all for coming.

Joseph Peter Monahan, Sr. or Joe Pete was and always will be the love of my life.

He will be sadly missed.

I first met my husband, Joe Pete in high school. I went to a local dance with a girl friend. After we got there, she promptly told me that I would have to find another ride home.

I asked a fellow that I knew if he'd take me home.

He told me no but that he knew someone who was just dying to take me home.

Joe Pete

He did. After that we dated. Then we had a long distance romance when he went into the Air Force.

I have every letter that he wrote me.

He was stationed in Texas, Vandenburg in California. Then in Alaska. Clear MEWS. Missile Early Warning Station. He was chosen because of his ability to get along with people. The base was very small. This was during the Vietnam era. He could have been sent there. Thank God, he wasn't.

When he got out of the military, we married.

We had a good life. Tragically though we did lose our youngest son, Shawn.

We were married for 57 years.

He was also a beloved Greyhound manager. For 42 years. According to some, he was the best manager ever. That's probably true because he was the best husband ever.

We appreciate everyone who is here.

But at this time, we'd prefer no company. Joe and I would prefer to be alone.

Say a silent prayer for Joe Pete.

Honor him in that way.

Thanks very much for coming. May Jehovah bless us all.

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Timeline of husband's problems with cancer:

My husband had surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. When he came home from the surgery, he was on a feeding tube for a month. That was hard since the tube leaked rather badly. We dealt with it because he would have had to have more surgery.

Since June 29th, 2023, my husband wasn't able to have immunotherapy, due to elevated alkaline phosphatase. We traveled to the hospital over an hour and have blood test done. Then we are told that they can't do the infusion. Tests have been performed but the doctor hasn't found out exactly what is causing the problem. He has a MRI scheduled for Monday, July 24th. Then on Tuesday, July 25th, he had a bone scan.

Wednesday the 26th of July, he had his esophagus stretched. He doesn't have an appetite, isn't eating much and continues to lose weight. The doctor was hoping that this would help. However it didn't.

On July 27, he was taken to the hospital in Farmville. He should have stayed but came home. He was home for one day and actually cut grass on the riding mower. I tried to get him not to do it... On July 30, we took him to the emergency room in Richmond. Sadly he never came home again. They did tests, etc. We drove back and forth to visit. On Friday, the doctor called and told me that I should come. I went and spent the night. On Saturday, we were told that he needed to go to hospice.

Saturday, August 5, 2023

My husband told the doctor that he needed to live to take care of her, and pointed to me. But that wasn't the way that it was to be.

Joe Pete was coming home with hospice. The transport people told us that we were coming at 10, then 2, then 4 and then 6, They kept changing the time. I sat with my husband and niece all day. We played music for him. "I Just Called to Say I Love you" by Stevie Wonder, "Red, Red Wine" by Neil Diamond, and "Remember When" by Alan Jackson. I even sang to him.8^) And I am not a good singer. "Lullaby and goodnight in the soft evening light. Close your eyes, Dream of sweet Paradise". He only slept. I told him that I loved him and wasn't going to leave him.

He never opened his eyes. Our son was in Blackstone at home all day for the hospice people.

I got up & went to the bathroom. My niece came to get me. Strange look on her face. As soon as I left the room and was not holding his hand, he passed away. That was probably a few minutes after 6:00 pm. I can not believe how fast he went down. He was holding on for me. I kissed him and told him that I would see him in Paradise.

I thought that we had a little time. Sadly we didn't.

He passed away on Saturday and never made it home.

He is dearly loved and so very much missed!! My heart is broken!! I know that I will never recover from this until I am beside him or this world ends and we are in Paradise!

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The rest are my rambling thoughts about a man that I dearly love and still love! My soul mate!! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

I wish that I could go back in time to 1966 when we first were married and you were young and healthy! What a precious thing that would be!!

Joe Pete was always so appreciative. Even when he was in the hospital. I went and got him some candy and chewing gum. He was so thankful. He also wanted to go in his wallet and get some money to give to us for going out to eat. What a thoughtful man and especially since he was so sick! He was and is the love of my life! It's so hard waking up without him!

"We had it all just like Bogie and Bacall" Joe Pete, I love and miss you so much. And we did have it all! Great memories!

I totally get Edna St. Vincent Millay's lament:

Life must go on, I forget just why.

This song when you were in service: "Oh, my little soldier boy. I'll be true to you. You were my first love and you'll be my last love." meant a lot to me. Because it was how I felt, Joe Pete! I'll always be yours!!

"Come in the evening, or come in the morning, come when you are looked for, or come without warning. Kisses and welcome you'll find here before you, And the oftener you come here the more I'll adore you." This is a poem that I found and put with Joe Pete's picture when he was in the service. It's been there ever since.

Joe Pete so much wanted to live. This morning I found seeds that he had saved to plant in 2024! (Sept. 15, 2023)

I got all of the letters that Joe Pete wrote to me while he was in the Air Force. 275 letters from 8/9/1963 to 11/21/1965. We had something special! I have read them all and started over reading them again. Memories, sweet memories!

༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻ Much love to you, Joe Pete!! I'm so glad that I have your letters!! I read 5 every night before going to sleep!! It's almost like you are just away and are coming back!! All 275 of the letters say how much you love and miss me!! ༺✿ڰۣڿ✿༻

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We have had a tremendous amount of rain. When I went to the cemetery on Sunday (Jan 28, 2024), I found a hard hat sign on my husband's grave and lot's of water!! I called the town about the flooded grave on Jan 29, 2024. They said that there is a drainage problem that they can't do anything about. Really? I called the funeral director. He called the Monument people. They finally called me.

They do have the stone. He was digging a foundation to put it in but there was so much water. Someone should have informed me about the sign.