Barbara J. Monroe
March 4, 1933 - June 27, 2021

Barbara J. (Atkinson) Monroe, 88, passed on Sunday, June 27, 2021. Services will be Saturday, July 17, at 10 a.m., at Lutheran Church of Sunburst. A reception at the church parish hall will follow the service.

She was born in Belt on March 4, 1933, and was the fourth of 11 children born to Felix and Isabel (Ashworth) Atkinson. In 1940, the family moved to Sunburst. They first heard of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on the radio, her father was inducted into the Navy in 1943, leaving behind Isabel and nine children. She remembered her dad sending home a coconut from Hawaii with the address right on the coconut! Following in their father’s footsteps, all five brothers and her husband, Jack, eventually joined some branch of the service, thus impacting Barbara to lend her passion to serving veterans until her death.

Throughout her years in American Legion Auxiliary she served at Unit, District, Department and National levels from 1974 until 2021. She was especially honored to serve as National NW District Vice President and as Department President for two terms. She was also a member of the VFW Auxiliary, 8/40, Genealogy Club and Sunburst Lutheran Church.

During her youth she tended gardens, learned canning and baked bread at the young age of 12; it became her job. For entertainment they went on picnics and paid 10 cents to go to the movies in Sunburst, where they could also roller skate, which she loved. She also loved ice cream and would often skip meals to go charge a shake at Todd’s Soda Fountain, at least until her parents discovered her adventures!

She married John “Jack” James Monroe on June 21, 1950. Barbara did the books for the family farm, ran meals to the fields and helped clean equipment and bins. She worked at Millie’s Dress Shop and Cattleman’s Meats in her later years. She loved the family get-togethers, which often included picnics, men playing poker and the women and children playing board games. She often played Scrabble and Yahtzee with family members when they would visit; she liked to win and would smile when she did. 

Lunches with Rita, Tommy and Delia on her hair appointment days were highlights of her week, as were visits from her children and grandchildren. She loved reading mysteries and traveling; she was proud to have visited almost all the lower 48, Hawaii and the Bahamas. She was always present at her family events.

She is survived by her siblings, Shirley, Tommy and Barry (Josie); her sister-in-law, Delia; her son, Randy (Kathy); daughter, Stacy (Karl); seven grandchildren, Amanda, John (Delana), Jordan (Sarah), Dylan, Daniel, Serena (James) and Jakob; and 10 great-grandchildren, Jaden, Emma, Eli, Jaxon, Aubrey, Desmond, Gabriel, Zayden, HayKin and Tayven.

She was preceded in death by her mother and father; sisters, Doris, Betty, Bertha and Rita; brothers, Gerald, Clarence, aka Burgie, and Leonard.

She loved well and was well loved in return. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: ALA Border Unit 73 c/o Nancy Linnell, P.O. 224, Sunburst, MT 59482, or VFW Auxiliary c/o Sue Kimmet, P.O. 281, Sunburst, MT 59482, or Sunburst Lutheran Church, Sunburst, MT 59482. Condolences to www.asperfh.com.