Richard Monson

CEDAR FALLS – Richard Louis Monson, 77, died on Friday, January 26, 2024, at Nation Cottage, Western Home Communities. He was born on November 23, 1946, in Red Oak, IA, the son of Ted and Marjorie (Morton) Monson. The family moved to Fort Dodge, IA, in 1953, returning to SW Iowa in 1963 to great-grandfather C.V. Monson’s “retirement farm” in Page County. After graduating from Essex High School in 1964, he spent several years at NE Missouri State College in Kirksville. Richard served in the US Army from Sept. 1966 to Sept. 1968, achieving the rank of Sergeant. While stationed in South Korea, he taught GED classes to fellow servicemen and led a survey crew setting firing coordinates for both US and ROK artillery along the DMZ. He completed his education at Iowa State University, graduating with a BS in mechanical engineering in Feb. 1972. On Aug. 29, 1971, he was united in marriage to Harriet Bell in Essex. Richard gained experience in the power industry quickly, working in design and project management at Burns & McDonnell and Sega in the Kansas City area and Stanley Consultants in Muscatine, IA. At Iowa Power and Light Co. in Council Bluffs, he trained power plant operators and oversaw construction and start-up of their 650-megawatt power plant in the 1970s. The work he enjoyed most was as director of utilities at Iowa State University, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he retired in 2008. From 1995 to 1999, he was employed in Facilities Management at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, where he and Harriet decided to return in 2017. Richard enjoyed golfing, reading history, visiting historical sites, hiking and biking in the Rocky Mountains, taking golfing trips around the country, and attending Chiefs and Broncos games with long-time friends. Surviving Richard are his wife, Harriet; brothers-in-law, Mike Roberts, Charles (Jacqueline) Bell, sister-in-law, Caroline (Jim) Malloy; cousin (almost brother) Gary Swanson; much-loved nieces and nephews and their families; and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Daryl; sisters, Susan and Lori; and nieces, Molly Williams and Sherry Hafelfinger. The family wishes to express their heartfelt gratitude to everyone at Nation Cottage and St. Croix Hospice for their loving kindness. A memorial service is being planned for the spring. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery in Nyman, IA. Memorials may be directed to the Lewy Body Dementia Association or the Essex Educational Foundation.

Richard Monson

November 23, 1953 - January 26, 2024