Donald L. Monahan stepped over into Heaven with his Savior, Jesus Christ, Sunday afternoon on August 1, 2021. He was reunited with his wife of 50 years, Carole Monahan. Their children Shari Magg and Glen A. Thullen III will miss them both greatly. They were blessed with grandchildren and their wives: Chuck & Melissa, Paul & Jasna and Phillip & Bethany. They were also blessed to be part of their great-grandchildren’s lives as well - Aiden, Camden, CharleyAnn, Emma and Mila. Donald has two sisters, Shirley and Sharon, and his only brother, Jack, was waiting for him at the Heavenly fishing pond!
He was a member of Joy Fellowship Worship Center where he rededicated his life to serving Jesus. One of his life quotes was, “If the evidence of the Holy Spirit is not inside the church--- LEAVE and finds one that is Spirit Filled!” He believed in miracles. Jesus has had his hand on Don since he was born. As an infant just a few weeks old, he was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis (gangrene of the stomach) and sent home to die. His mother took him to a Spirit-filled church, laid him on the altar and said, “Lord, if you are going to take him, take him now or heal him.” He lived 81 years! In his late teens, he was on the Oral Roberts Tent building team in the Midwest. He had another miracle when he had a motorcycle accident in his late 20s. He was thrown into the air and came down on his collarbone. It was nearly poking out of his skin. He went to hospital where they just put a “figure 8” collar on him and said they would have performed surgery next week. Sunday, he went to church and asked Jesus to heal him. Monday he was back roofing and swinging a hammer!
Don was only educated to the 8th grade and over the years taught himself to read. As a wayward teen, he was in a boy’s home and there he earned a certificate of a Master Baker. He loved to bake, but truck driving was his passion. He owned his own roofing company here in Hopewell and roofed the majority of Kippax Estates.
Don enjoyed many adventures through his lifetime. He has gone scuba diving in the Pacific Ocean, lived on a houseboat in Florida, waterskied on Lake Okeechobee (avoiding what he thought were logs in the water- later in the marina some people said, “MAN you are so brave!” “Why?” “We don’t see many people skiing with the alligators!” He said he never returned to that lake). He chased buffalos on foot in Yellowstone. He enjoyed building his own 5th wheel camper. He once built a two story “Cat House” completes with red light for the 24 rescued cats he had. Don took the family camping, boating and fishing. His favorite place to fish and camp has been Chickahominy River. He was a SERIOUS checker player (playing one game for hours) as retold by his sister, Sharon.
Family and friends are invited to a visitation at J.T. Morriss & Son, 820 W. Broadway, Hopewell, VA 23860 at 1:30 PM on Sunday, August 15, 2021. A reception will follow at Joy Fellowship Worship Center, 1001 Perrymont Rd, Hopewell, VA 23860.