Nelson A. Montague

East Alton: Nelson A. Montague, 80, passed away at 5:07 am on Friday, July 8, 2022, at his residence. The son of the late Melvin and Virginia (Allen) Montague, Nelson always detailed the time and place of his birth with the precision characteristic of all his endeavors: 10:17 a.m. on September 12, 1941 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Alton, Illinois. He married the former Wilma Barnes on May 16, 1964, in Wood River, and she survives. Other survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Allison Montague Parrett and Scott Parrett of Edwardsville; a son, Kendall (Jennie Greer) Montague of Fairview Heights; a granddaughter, Madison Parrett of Madison, Wisconsin; a sister, Nancy Montague of Wood River; a devoted rescue Lhasa Apso, Yadi, and many other relatives and special friends. After graduating from Roxana High School in 1960, Nelson attended David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee. He then continued his education with a four-year apprenticeship program at Owens-Illinois Machine Manufacturing in Godfrey, Illinois. He qualified as a journeyman and then master machinist, a position he would hold until his retirement from Owens-Illinois in 2003. He was a proud member of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers for more than fifty years. Monty, as Nelson was known to three generations of coworkers, thrived in a skilled occupation which demanded high output while meeting tolerances down to the thousandths of an inch. Through his work he also developed a life-long vise-like grip; his hands were as strong as his determination to do his very best. Nelson was also an artist. As a young man he took classes and successfully pursued work as an illustrator, but his creative flair remained apparent throughout his lifetime. He was only satisfied with the woodworking projects that he completed in his retirement, for example a desk hutch and bookcase for his granddaughter, when they were exactly, perfectly square and included extra artistic touches unique to him. Nelson used all his gifts in the service of the church of Christ congregation that met at three locations over the course of his life: 13th Street in Wood River, where he attended from the age of three weeks, Central & Madison, also in Wood River, where he met and married his wife, and finally Vaughn Hill in Rosewood Heights, where he was an extraordinarily active member for decades. As he and Wilma described it, “when we could, we did.” Over the years, Nelson was a youth group leader, a Joy Bus captain, and a deacon who helmed projects as diverse as a Clean Up TV campaign when he was the father of young kids and a Senior Care Ministry when he himself was retired. Most important to Nelson, though, was the opportunity to teach God’s word, and he regularly taught bible classes for both youth and adults. In 1974, he and Wilma conceived and created an original children’s worship program of songs, skits, puppets, and characters that they called Sunshine Mountain. On the first Sunday, ninety-three preschoolers entered a classroom decorated with mountains Nelson painted, climbed up the carpeted seating Nelson designed and built, and participated in activities and lessons that Nelson (and Wilma) wrote and taught and performed on a custom stage that Nelson was also Nelson’s creation. To engage so many three and four year-olds for one hour would be an accomplishment. That Nelson and Wilma maintained Sunshine Mountain for six years of large groups of three-and-four-year-olds on Sunday mornings and six years of large groups of five year-olds on Wednesday evenings is not only a testament to the strength of Nelson’s belief, personality, and stamina, but it is also a testament to the power of his partnership with Wilma which began when he was seventeen years old. With their characteristic generosity, Nelson and Wilma traveled to national workshops to teach others how to create similar worship programs for young children, but no one else could really do Sunshine Mountain. In this same way, no one else could have lived Nelson Montague’s life of wide-ranging service, certainly not to his standards. Throughout it all, Nelson’s pride in his family was exceeded only by his love for them, and his memory will forever be a blessing. In celebration of his life, visitation will be from 11am until time of funeral services at 12pm on Friday, July 15, 2022, at Vaughn Hill Church of Christ. Brian Magnuson will officiate. Burial will follow at Rose Lawn Memory Gardens in Bethalto. Memorials are suggested to BJC Hospice.