BIOGRAPHY
Dear friends and family of
Allan and Bette Monteith,
We are writing to give you
the sad news that our father, Allan, passed away on May 4th,
2004 after a brief illness. While it was a time of sorrow for our
family, it gave us pause to reflect on our idyllic childhood. Our
parents filled up our days with swimming, picnics, friends, western
travel, Houghton Lake vacations, Brownies, Girl Scouts and of course,
Michigan football. Dad only missed 5 home games in 45 years.
While Dad was deeply saddened by our mom and sister’s passing, his
last year was quite remarkable. He
still managed to do a ton—an ambitious schedule for even younger
folks. He continued to work on the family genealogy project as well as
write a family history book—mostly on the computer I might add.
Amazing! In 2002 he discovered a “lost” branch of the family on
the internet. Of course they didn’t know they were “lost”. Joan
and Barb took our dad to Huntington Beach and Palm Springs to have a
long weekend with these wonderful relatives. It was definitely one of
the highlights of his year. After meeting them for 2 minutes we knew
they were family.
A few months later Allan was seen dancing and partying with his
daughter Joan and son-in-law David Miller at his Cass Tech High School
Reunion in Traverse City, Michigan. The summer months were filled with watching grandchildren
(children and adults) playing soccer, basketball, acre and baseball as
well as attending a Gershwin concert in San Francisco. Fall brought
happiness and frustration watching his beloved Wolverines play
football.
The whole month of November was spent celebrating Dad’s 90th
birthday ending with a huge family gathering attended by all his
California family including his many grandchildren and great
grandchildren.
One of the highlights of his year came in November when he was
the honored guest of PhotoSig, a local photography club. At the dinner
a series of photographs that he and his daughters compiled were the
main attraction. The collection featured photos taken in 1935 when Dad
was 22 and had travel across the country to San Francisco with his
cousin Bill McLain; during this trip he took several beautiful
photographs of the city on an old Argus camera. In 2003, Barb, Joan
and Bonnie took Dad back to the spots where the original pictures had
been taken to recapture images of the same locations. These pictures,
both new and old, were then enlarged and framed to create an
extraordinary exhibit. You can see them at this site:
http://floobydust.netfools.com
Click on PhotoSig Gallery on the left side of the screen. Then scroll
and click on The Wall, then click on SF Then and Now (or San Francisco
Then and Now, whichever name is there). If you visit the site you will
see that the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge were under
construction and would not be finished for another couple years. My
dad said he remembered taking the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco.
At the end of the evening, as a gesture of appreciation, Dad donated
his Argus camera, the one that actually took the original pictures, to
the club.
Dad’s passing has been sad for us all, and yet, it is amazing
to think of all that he continued to enjoy and achieve in his life,
well into his later years. It was a gift that he was with us as long
as he was, enjoying the growth of his children and the expansion of
his family. Family was such an important part of who he was, and
although he was the last member of our family to carry the Monteith
name, passing the legacy of the family history was his passion and
ultimately his final gift to us. For that we will always be grateful.
We appreciate who you have been to our father and for what you
contributed to his life. We know he valued your love and friendship as
evidenced by the many cards, letters and emails from you that he saved
over the years. Your friendship was truly a blessing to him throughout
his life and, especially, in his later years. Thank you for valuing
and loving him as much as we did.
Warmly,
Barb, Joan and Bonnie
(his daughters)
E-mail Address: barb_brisson@yahoo.com
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