Mable Krueger Monk

Mable Krueger Monk - Submitted for the USGenWeb by Bruce Muller, Sr. 11-15-2023

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Mable Krueger Monk - Madison Parish, Louisiana
FEBRUARY 18, 1930 – NOVEMBER 12, 2023

Forged in the cottonfields of Tallulah, Louisiana; honed in the operating rooms of Baton Rouge General Hospital; and immortalized in the hearts of her friends and family, Mable (Krueger) Monk was a devoted wife, loving mother, doting grandparent, and formidable professional.

She passed away on November 12, 2023, at the age of 93. Her family would like to thank the doctors and nurses of Our Lady of Lourdes and Hospice of Acadiana who provided compassionate care in her final days.

Mable was a resident of Camelot of Broussard, where the dedicated staff aided her for the past seven years. Apart from three short years at Mercy Hospital Nursing School in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Mable was a lifelong Louisianian and graduated from Tallulah High School in 1948. She began working at Charity Hospital in New Orleans in 1951. She went on to become a surgical nurse, and after a brief stint in administration, took on the role of Head Nurse of the Baton Rouge General Hospital Heart Team.

She would share stories of the OR if asked but was oddly humble about the fact that she was an integral part of a lifesaving team of doctors and nurses. She considered the Heart Team a second family, and the respect she held for each of them was evident in her anecdotes and commitment to her craft.

She was married just short of fifty years to John Ray Monk and is survived by her sons Mike Monk and his wife Gena of Lafayette and Paul Monk and his wife Angela of Salina, Kansas. She was predeceased by her daughter, Shirley Ann Monk Smith formerly of Malden, Massachusetts.

Mable was a devout Catholic and insisted that her children attend St. George School in Baton Rouge. She was eternally proud of them; if Mike hung the moon and stars, then Paul had painted them, and surely Shirley had dreamt them up. It is therefore fitting that she will return home to Baton Rouge on Saturday, November 18th for services at Saint George Catholic Church beginning at 10 a.m. A visitation hour will precede the funeral mass at 9 a.m.

She loved to travel and crisscrossed the country to visit her grandchildren Shannon and Sean Braud, Peter Smith, Michele and Kristene Monk, and closer to home – Ian Monk and Carrie Billeaud. Mable made it a point of honor to attend their weddings, graduations, reunions, and birthdays – she took advantage of any opportunity to gather with family. Especially if there was potato salad.

One of eight siblings, Mable is survived by her younger sister, Florence Muller of Michigan. They spoke with deep love and admiration of their mother, Cleta, and her struggles to ensure that they were all educated to the best of her ability. To say that their family visits were noteworthy would be a massive understatement. When any of the sisters got together, you could rarely understand a word of what was being said over the constant Krueger laughter. It echoes in our hearts and minds as we lay MiMi to rest.

Mable was an avid reader, though not deeply attached to her extensive library of books. She was willing to give books by the bagful to any interested party. She was a competitive Scrabble player, although she hated two-letter words. You were forewarned not to try any ‘za’ or ‘ka’ nonsense, and she showed no mercy if you left a triple word score open. She enjoyed the ballet and the theater be it dinner theater, a local production, or a Broadway show. “Sing it, Willie,” was her inevitable response to Always on My Mind and she thought television had gone downhill after “The Carol Burnett Show” folded.

Mable also took a deep interest in her great grandchildren, although she wouldn’t let even them call her grandma: Dr. Heather Jaber of Doha, Qatar; Mahmoud Jaber of Washington, D.C., Adam and Emma Jaber of Beirut Lebanon; Mileena Moseley of Salina, Kansas; Connor, Sawyer, Charlotte, and Jack Billeaud of Lafayette all knew her simply as MiMi. MiMi was generous to those in need, grateful for those who helped, and did not suffer fools lightly. She enjoyed sarcasm as an art form, and delighted in those who could wield it well. That probably led to a higher-than-average number of sassy grandchildren, but those she could silence with a look or a well-timed hmmph. She told the truth you needed to hear but did it in a way that lacked judgment. Mable Monk was a woman of countless interests and talents, and it would strain this writer’s limited supply of words to give credit to them all. She lived well, she loved well, and she is remembered well. Always MiMi.

(Written by two of her grandchildren Shannon Jaber in Beirut, Lebanon and Sean Braud in New Orleans.)