06/02/2022
Philip Leroy Monroe was born September 23, 1945, in Knoxville, Iowa to Hoyt and Catherine Monroe.
He spent the first eight years of his life on a small family farm, attending a two-room schoolhouse in Columbia, until moving into the “city” of Knoxville.
He graduated from Knoxville High School in 1963 intending to attend the Air Force Academy and pursue his love of flying, but since he did not receive an appointment at the Academy, he enrolled in pre-med at the University of Iowa.
While on a family vacation to Colorado in undergraduate school he met Janielle Samuelson from Glenwood Springs, and after his freshman year in medical school, they were married on June 16, 1967. After graduation from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1970, Phil and Jan moved to Spokane, Washington for his internship at Deaconess Hospital.
After an internship, Phil joined the U.S. Navy, volunteered for Flight Surgeon School in Pensacola, Florida, and then served as the Station Flight Surgeon at NAS Lemoore, California for the next three years. While in the Navy, Phil pursued his love of flying adding commercial, instrument, multi-engine, seaplane, flight instructor, and glider ratings.
Last year he was honored with the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of accident-free flying. Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, Dr. Phil and Jan moved back to Spokane where he started his private Family Practice in the Valley in 1975.
A milestone occurred in Phil’s life about three years later when he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior allowing Him to guide the rest of his life. He has been an active member of Valley 4th Church since 1981.
Dr. Phil retired from medicine on his 70th birthday after serving his patients for 40 years. In retirement, he has enjoyed traveling, windsurfing, flying, skiing, bicycling, pickleball, serving in his church, and cooking Sunday dinners for his family.
Phil passed away from metastatic pancreatic cancer on June 2, 2022, at home. He is survived by his wife of almost 55 years, Jan, and daughters Wendy (Roesler), Kristal (Hayek), Elizabeth (Craciun), and Rebecca (Ormiston) and by their ten grandchildren and by brothers Jim (Sedalia, MO), Steve (Johnston, IA) and Bill (Jefferson, IA)
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm at Valley 4th Church, S. 2303 Bowdish Rd., Spokane Valley on Saturday, June 18.
Memorial gifts can be given to Voice of the Martyrs, Union Gospel Mission, or Valley 4th Missions.