Monte W. Kieling
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| May 19, 1956 ~
September 3, 2011 |
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September 13, 2011 |
 by
Mike Weland
Monte
W. Kieling, 55, St. Maries, passed away in his
sleep September 3 of an apparent heart attack.
At his request, no services are planned, but
additional information may be released regarding
an amazing man.
He was born in Portland, Oregon, May 19, 1956,
to William and Pauline (Olson) Kieling. He grew
up in Seattle, graduating in 1974. He earned his
Bachelor of Science Degree in
communications/journalism from Washington State
University, and went on to work as a sports
reporter for a newspaper in Ephrata, Washington,
and later for the Shoshone Daily News in
Wallace.
He went into law enforcement with the Shoshone
County Sheriff's Department in the early 1980s,
and not long after took his talent to the
Benewah County Sheriff's Officer, working as a
dispatcher and a jailer.
He moved to Bonners Ferry in 2002, and sat
behind the microphone in the sheriff's office
until 2007, when he went back to St. Maries as a
detention deputy.
He was pursuing an on-line Master's Degree in
Criminal Justice from Columbia Southern
University, Orange Beach, California, when he
died.
At the time of his death, Monte was a member of
the Benewah County Sheriff's Office. Before he
accepted a position there, he served for several
years as a dispatcher with the Boundary County
Sheriff's Office, and his became a well known
voice in this community; unflappable, friendly,
with a penchant for diction, even if that
diction didn't necessarily come from a
dictionary.
To this day, people inside and outside the
sheriffs office here still refer to his precise
calls for help in medical emergencies, and his
way of speaking, so clear you can't mistake it
... "Boundary Volunteer, we need an Am-bu-lance
..."
While most law enforcement dispatchers accept
that they spend their working hours in a cell,
Monte never forgot he was in the public eye. On
the phone, his was a friendly voice of calm and
reason, whether you were a journalist calling
for information in the midst of a crisis or a
citizen calling for help. And when you met him
outside the call center, he always had a smile
and something nice, something perfectly right,
to say. You could never be mad at Monte, and if
you had a beef with the Sheriff or a deputy or
anyone else, he had a way of melting that anger,
of being part of the solution, and not a
problem.
His wasn't the best looking face or figure, but
those who knew him came away forever touched by
the beauty of his heart. As a volunteer with the
North Bench Fire Department, he was not only
there to stand in harm's way, but to make
friends with the people he served, especially
the kids, and to bring about an understanding of
their concerns and the realities faced by the
people he worked with.
News of Monte's passing has hit the people who
knew him in the Boundary County Sheriffs Office
hard, as well as personnel who most lately
worked with him in the Benewah County Sheriffs
Office. Both agencies have been hard on the
phone with Hodge's Funeral Home seeking to know
when and how they can pay their respects, but
thus far, there's little planned in the way of
remembrance.
He leaves behind only two people, a sister who
is not doing well in her battle with cancer, and
a 91-year-old father, William, also not in the best of
health, who flew in from Seattle today to
oversee his son's final arrangements.
Those who'd like to send condolences and
memories to Monte's father can write, William
Kieling, 7125 Fauntleroy Way S.W., Room K-213,
Seattle, WA 98136. |
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