Louise Munday died Sunday, March 3, 2024, at Garfield County Memorial Hospital in Pomeroy, just 11 days shy of her 101st birthday.
Louise was born Marianna Louisa Schuelke on March 14, 1923, to Albert and Gertrude Purcell Schuelke, at Schuelke farm up Rickman Gluch. She attended the first five grades of school at Pataha, grades six through eight at Holy Rosary Catholic School and high school at Pomeroy High School, graduating in 1941. She was the last surviving member of the class of 1941.
After graduating from high school she borrowed $100 dollars from her grandmother to pay tuition at St. Ignatius hospital nursing school in Colfax. Her nurse’s training was delayed when her brother, John, was taken prisoner of war in the Pacific in 1942. She was heart broken and dropped out of school for six months before returning. She eventually finished her nursing training at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane in 1946.
While a student at St. Ignatius in Colfax, she met a young man who worked for farmers in the area. Howard Munday was a patient in the hospital with a broken leg. She thought him “an obnoxious flirt” and was glad when he was released. They eventually ran into each other in downtown Colfax and soon began dating. They were married Nov. 8, 1947, and shared 41 years together before Howard passed away May 25, 1988.
They built a house in Colfax and Louise worked at St. Ignatius for nine and a half years. In 1955, Louise and Howard moved to Pomeroy to help care for her ailing father and she went to work at the Pomeroy hospital. During her Pomeroy nursing career she worked for Dr. Weiland and Dr. Bond, then Dr. Weiland and Dr. Herron. She worked in the medical office of Dr. R. J. Weiland Sr. for a total of 33 years. Her nursing career spanned a total of 46 years.
Louise’s life was one of service to her community. She was honored as Retired Senior Volunteer Program volunteer of the year for Washington state in 2001. She served many years on the Garfield County Human Services Board; one of the founders of the local food bank; active in the Daughters of the Pioneers; Garfield County Pioneer Association, being the Honored Pioneer in 2002. She served on the Board of Commissioners of the Garfield County Hospital District and was a very active member of the Area Aging and Long Term Care Board. She was instrumental in the beginning and was a very active member of the Garfield County Senior Citizens Center. She played pinochle at the center just three days before she died, and legend has it that she was a cut-throat pinochle player. She supported the youth of Garfield County by buying animals from 4-H and FFA projects at the Garfield County Fair for many years.
Her greatest legacy was becoming guardian to neighbor Garth and Helen Bull’s two adult children (Garth Jr. and Judy Ann) who had disabilities from birth, after their parents passed away. Louise moved into the Bull home and cared for Garth and Judy until their passing, Garth in 2006 and Judy in 2011.
Louise was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Howard; her brother John, who died as a Japanese Prisoner of War in 1944; and foster children Garth Bull Jr. and Judy Ann Bull. She is survived by many nieces and nephews and more friends than one can imagine. Proof of that was her 100th birthday party, which was attended by a standing-room-only crowd of over 300 people.
Louise was a lifelong member of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Pomeroy. Rosary service will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at the church at 634 High St., Pomeroy, and a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 14 (her 101st birthday). A party had been planned but now it will be a celebration of an extraordinary life. Her ashes will be buried at the Pomeroy Cemetery with Howard. A dinner will follow at the Catholic school.
Memorials may be sent to the Garfield County Senior Citizens Center, P.O. Box 23, Pomeroy, WA 99347, or the Garfield County Food Bank, P.O. Box 15, Pomeroy, WA 99347.
