Monty Wilson, long-time resident of Malibu, passed away on April 24; he was 97.
Monty was a square dance caller and teacher. He taught and called for the Swinging Saints, a square dance club that danced at the Methodist Church in the Palisades for many years, as well as for other square dance clubs in the area. His wife Margaret, who died eight years ago, was a round dance cuer and teacher.
Monty had an interesting life and was a man of many talents. He was born in Oklahoma. He played the trumpet, was in a military band during World War II and had his own swing band that played throughout the Midwest.
Monty became disenchanted with the late nights and lifestyle, so he moved to the LA area and became a carpenter for the movie studios. When he hurt his back at work, he went to a chiropractor and he decided that that’s what he wanted to be.
He went to chiropractic school and fell in love with the secretary for the dean of the school—Margaret. They were married for over 60 years.
Monty had a successful chiropractic practice in Westwood and loved playing tennis. Margaret and Monty were quite adventurous: They traveled to and through Mexico on a motorcycle, ice danced, and used to go to Mammoth nearly every winter weekend to ski.
They became real estate investors and did all of their own work on their properties; Margaret even helped with re-roofing. Even in his 90s Monty would get up on the roof of his house for some repair or would crawl under the house with a gas mask to spray for termites.
He was a well-mannered gentleman and will be missed.
If you have a memory of Monty, please send it to Julie DaVanzo at juliedavanzo@outlook.com.
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