Rodney Lane Monk was the 3rd born to Dale & Elsie Monk on August 7th, 1953 in Wray, CO.

He grew up on his family's farm North of Yuma, and attended Red Willow School and later attended Yuma District Schools. He was baptized at the Pleasant Vally Methodist Church which was a big part of his life growing up.

Family traditions were always important to Rodney; there were always birthdays, card parties, wedding showers, baby showers, anniversaries to be celebrated and Sunday family dinners with nearby aunts and uncles. He had especially fond memories of the

candlelight shrimp suppers that his parents hosted for him & his siblings around the kitchen table every Christmas Eve. We keep this tradition alive, with his brother Steve & sister Marlene . Now, their are nearly 50 of us as the families have grown and we celebrate each year at Quintech.

As a youth, he looked forward to the annual trips to visit his mother's family on the western slope.  The Mosher family was very large & Rodney often spoke of the fun times he spent visiting with his grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins.

Growing up his parents had a strong work ethic that they instilled in their children. This served Rodney well throughout his life. He helped his dad with flood irrigation, and participated in 4-H, where he had his first dairy cow. This set the stage for his life as a farmer.

In High School along with playing football & basketball, Rodney enjoyed vocational Ag where he built a stock trailer that they used for many years. It is still used as a fuel trailer on the family farm.

During his sophomore year, he met his sweetheart, Dianna Wilkins. The two finished high school in 1971, and married just a few months later on Oct 2nd in the the United Methodist Church in Yuma, Colorado.

The couple had big dreams of working side by side and building a farm together.  After a couple years of marriage, their dream was coming to fruition when they were able to purchase a house and some land.  They built a dairy using the experience Rodney had acquired working with his dad, Harper Dairy and working sprinklers at McDu farms.

In order to build the farm into what it is now, God blessed them with 4 sons. They welcomed their first born in 1975, had twins that followed in 1978 and their last child was born in 1981. From then on Rodney instilled in his boys his values of faith, hard work & perseverance, which helped lead to the family farming business he & Dianna dreamed of. As his kids grew, so did their farm. With his family, he spent the last 43 years faithfully building their family farm, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  He & Dianna successfully raised their boys to be hard workers, men of faith, and wonderful husbands and fathers. This speaks volumes of his extraordinary character and the way in which he conducted his life.

Life on the farm was not without its hardships. The family overcame two devastating fires that destroyed their home, and other challenges that come with farm life.  Rodney continued his outlook that if the pie wasn't big enough to share, he would just make a bigger pie. This was obvious in his generosity & caring nature that carried over into all aspects of his life.

In early 2005, Rodney had a vision of turning the old Yuma elementary school into multi-purpose office spaces. This is where the idea of Quintech started. He & his family all helped to remodel the building & run it as a family business. It opened in September 2006 as a fitness & business center.

Rodney was the most proud of his family. Although he experienced a tragic accident that nearly took his life in 2005, from which he miraculously recovered, the Lord knew his time on earth was not yet over. In the 12 years since that accident, Rodney got to witness his family flourish as his four boys married and started families.  He welcomed 2 granddaughters and 9 grandsons into this world. If you could have witnessed the pure joy each of these grandkids had at just the mention of their grandfathers' name, "Paps", you would understand the legacy he is leaving behind. They each cherished every moment they got to spend with him.

Rodney was a member of several local boards that served the community;

St. Paul Lutheran Church Council, where he taught Sunday school & planned exciting youth group trips.

CHS board

Otis Young Farmers, where he and his family built lasting friendships & prize winning floats for local parades.

Colorado Young Farmers, serving as state officer for two years.

And the Otis School Board

If you were fortunate enough to have spent much time with Rodney, you'd know his charming, outgoing personality, witty sense of humor, and warm embrace. His family and friends have shared how much they would look forward to seeing him, mostly because of his ability to make you feel special & safe, often being described as a gentle giant.

Rodney was preceded in death by his mother Elsie (Mosher) Monk, father Dale Monk, step-mother Dolly Monk, father-in-law Bert Wilkins, and sister-in-law Sandra Wilkins.

He is survived by his beloved wife Dianna of 46 years; son Thad & wife Teresa with children Tatum, Teagan, and Thayer; Clint & wife Amanda with children Kennadee, Beau, and Crue; Trent & wife Jacqie with children Achtonn, Finnley, Miles and Moses;  Jason & wife Megan with son Boyd; brother Stephen & wife Kathleen, sister Marlene & husband Neil McConnell; mother-in-law Merle Wilkins;  brother in-law Randy Wilkins and wife Deb, sister in-law Melody Kuntz and husband Dan, brother in-law Skip Wilkins and wife Pam. Rodney had many nieces, nephews, other family and friends that were near and dear to his heart.

Memorial service was held at the United Methodist Church in Yuma, CO. March 3rd, 2018 at 10am with Pastor Don Smith officiating. Interment was at the Yuma Cemetery. Memorials may be made in Rodney's name to A Caring Pregnancy Resource Center, PO Box 304, Brush, CO 80723. www.NECO-CPC.org

Funeral arrangements were made by Bowin Funeral home in Akron, CO.