Deceased April 18, 2020
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In Memory
Monty passed away on April 18, 2020, at age 98. Born in Newark, N.J., Monty grew up in Summit, N.J., attended Summit High and, in 1939, enrolled at Amherst. He was a member of Chi Psi fraternity, ran track for three years as a 440 man and ran cross-country his sophomore year. His roommates his junior and senior years were Beige Babcock ’43 and Ham Adams ’43.
A trip with Amherst friends in spring 1943 to the navy reserve station in Springfield resulted in their enlistment in the V-7 Program—the U.S. Navy Reserve Midshipmen’s School, an expedited auxiliary naval officer training program. After graduation, Monty went to officer training at Columbia University and then served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 1943 through the end of WWII. During the war, he served as a fighter director on two destroyers, the USS Reid (DD-369) and the USS Steinaker (DD-863).
During a resupply mission into Leyte Gulf in December 1944, Monty was a fortunate survivor of the tragic sinking of the USS Reid by Japanese kamikaze pilots.
Monty married Marcia Gallup in March 1945, while he was home on leave. They were married 65 years until her death in 2010. Monty and Marcia met at a dance while Monty was attending the officer training school, and they thereafter retained their love of dancing together.
They were also avid golf and tennis players. Marcia usually got the better of him at tennis. His golf game became impressive as he got older, to include shooting his age at 84!
Monty and Marcia were part of the 1943 gang that would return for reunion weekend every year. He made his last reunion trip in 2014—though he wanted to keep returning. Monty happily served as class secretary for the last 26 years.
Chris Hankin ’74