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In Memory of

Monie, Reverend Dr. Blair Russell

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Obituary
Tribute Wall
Obituary of Monie, Reverend Dr. Blair Russell

The Reverend Dr. Blair Russell Monie died on October 30, 2018 at home.  Dr. Monie, a native of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was born on May 6, 1948 to Russell W. Monie and Doris Butcher Monie of Bloomsburg. Dr. Monie was a graduate of Bloomsburg High School, Bloomsburg State College, and held The Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary.  He also held an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.  An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Dr. Monie was ordained on June 3, 1973, and served churches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Texas.  He served as senior pastor of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas from 1995 until his retirement in 2014.  Following his retirement, he was appointed Professor in the Louis H. and Katherine S. Zbinden Distinguished Chair of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas.  Also, upon his retirement, Dr. Monie was honored by a gift to Austin Seminary by Mary and Bob Wright, establishing the Blair R. Monie Distinguished Chair in Homiletics, also at Austin Seminary.  Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church and the PVN Foundation also honored Dr. Monie’s years of service by establishing the Reverend Blair and Cyndy Monie Chapel at Presbyterian Village North. Dr. Monie was deeply committed to Community Service in Dallas and served on numerous boards including the Boards of Trustees of Presbyterian Communities and Services and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.  He also served on the Boards of Trustees of Austin Seminary and his alma mater, Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Monie is survived by his wife, Cynthia Downs Monie, two daughters, Erin Gomez de Monie and her husband, Raul Gomez, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Courtney Monie Semmel and her husband Eric Semmel, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; four grandsons Addyson Hamilton, Kael Gomez, Collin Semmel, and Thomas Semmel, a granddaughter, Beth Gomez, as well as a brother-in-law Syd Downs and his wife Teresa of Denver, CO and Mark Downs and his wife Susie of Atlanta, GA, cousins, nieces and nephews. The family would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr. A. David McCollum at Baylor University Medical Center, the Infusion Nurses at Texas Oncology, the entire Faith Presbyterian Hospice team and the caregivers from Acappella.  We are grateful for the compassion and loving care provided by our friend, Dr. Paul A. Neubach, MD2. Blair Monie was grateful for a life-long call to ministry, in which his life was blessed with many friends and colleagues.  In life and in death, he belonged to God. A service of Witness and Resurrection will be held at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church on November 17, 2018, at 2pm.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Monie Pastoral Residency Fund of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, 9800 Preston Road, Dallas, TX 75230; Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary to the Learning and Information Center, Office of Institutional Advancement, 100 E 27th Street, Austin, TX 75090; Princeton Theological Seminary in honor of Blair Monie, P.O. Box 821, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ 08542. Please leave the family condolences and share memories on this website.

Tribute Wall of Monie, Reverend Dr. Blair Russell

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  1. Rodger Collins says:

    I will begin first and foremost by extending my family’s condolences and prayers to Cyndy and the entire Monie family during this time of both profound sorrow but also celebration of one of the most beloved individuals of the Christian community. About 20 years ago I experienced something that left me confused and empty…my church HPPC was in turmoil after Clayton Bell retired and the church chose to go in a different direction that left my family, and many others, behind and as a result made us refugees looking for a new church home. God therefore sent us to Blair and the amazing people at PHPC. I enrolled my daughter (and soon to arrive
    later my second daughter) in the PHPC Day School and she was happy from day one. I went to the Sanctuary that Sunday and within about two sentences from Blair I knew I had found my home again. Both He and Terry, along with the wonderful staff, were creating a magical atmosphere with the word of God in word, music, and deed. Blair was a friend and father figure to both of my daughters who both went through the youth program including the always fun and exciting confirmation with Blair. Blair also served as a friend and spiritual guide to me and my wife and we loved him and appreciated how blessed we were to know such a warm and kind man. His influence on my life truly was a game changer for my spiritual health and my sadness at his passing has me in a state of shock and disbelief. My family quotes his benediction and it hangs on our wall to remind us of what a loving and fun friend and leader he was; wearing his kilt, his special white robe, his smiling voice as he narrated the Christmas Story for the living Creche (sometimes showing up with his Santa hat), and on and on….everyone has great remembrances.
    Blair’s legacy is his faith, family, friends and the thousands of lives who benefited from hearing him speak the word.
    I will be traveling the weekend of the memorial and I’m sick that I’ll miss the tribute service so I’ll just have to be content with my final image that is appropriate given his love of sailing; Blair’s final voyage will be him smiling a huge grin with both hands at the helm of a 50 foot schooner close-hauled on a brisk cross-wind with a large Christian Flag atop the mast and the cross of Christ emblazoned on the Mainsail and Jib sheet. My eternal gratitude and peace to you and your family, Blair, and Godspeed on your journey as your living Lord shows you the way…

    Rodger Collins

    Thursday October 13, 2022

    I will begin first and foremost by extending my family's condolences and prayers to Cyndy and the entire Monie family during this time of both profound sorrow but also celebration of one of the most beloved individuals of the Christian community. About 20 years ago I experienced something that left me confused and empty...my church HPPC was in turmoil after Clayton Bell retired and the church chose to go in a different direction that left my family, and many others, behind and as a result made us refugees looking for a new church home. God therefore sent us to Blair and the amazing people at PHPC. I enrolled my daughter (and soon to arrive
    later my second daughter) in the PHPC Day School and she was happy from day one. I went to the Sanctuary that Sunday and within about two sentences from Blair I knew I had found my home again. Both He and Terry, along with the wonderful staff, were creating a magical atmosphere with the word of God in word, music, and deed. Blair was a friend and father figure to both of my daughters who both went through the youth program including the always fun and exciting confirmation with Blair. Blair also served as a friend and spiritual guide to me and my wife and we loved him and appreciated how blessed we were to know such a warm and kind man. His influence on my life truly was a game changer for my spiritual health and my sadness at his passing has me in a state of shock and disbelief. My family quotes his benediction and it hangs on our wall to remind us of what a loving and fun friend and leader he was; wearing his kilt, his special white robe, his smiling voice as he narrated the Christmas Story for the living Creche (sometimes showing up with his Santa hat), and on and on....everyone has great remembrances.
    Blair's legacy is his faith, family, friends and the thousands of lives who benefited from hearing him speak the word.
    I will be traveling the weekend of the memorial and I'm sick that I'll miss the tribute service so I'll just have to be content with my final image that is appropriate given his love of sailing; Blair's final voyage will be him smiling a huge grin with both hands at the helm of a 50 foot schooner close-hauled on a brisk cross-wind with a large Christian Flag atop the mast and the cross of Christ emblazoned on the Mainsail and Jib sheet. My eternal gratitude and peace to you and your family, Blair, and Godspeed on your journey as your living Lord shows you the way...

1 thought on “Monie, Reverend Dr. Blair Russell”

  1. I will begin first and foremost by extending my family’s condolences and prayers to Cyndy and the entire Monie family during this time of both profound sorrow but also celebration of one of the most beloved individuals of the Christian community. About 20 years ago I experienced something that left me confused and empty…my church HPPC was in turmoil after Clayton Bell retired and the church chose to go in a different direction that left my family, and many others, behind and as a result made us refugees looking for a new church home. God therefore sent us to Blair and the amazing people at PHPC. I enrolled my daughter (and soon to arrive
    later my second daughter) in the PHPC Day School and she was happy from day one. I went to the Sanctuary that Sunday and within about two sentences from Blair I knew I had found my home again. Both He and Terry, along with the wonderful staff, were creating a magical atmosphere with the word of God in word, music, and deed. Blair was a friend and father figure to both of my daughters who both went through the youth program including the always fun and exciting confirmation with Blair. Blair also served as a friend and spiritual guide to me and my wife and we loved him and appreciated how blessed we were to know such a warm and kind man. His influence on my life truly was a game changer for my spiritual health and my sadness at his passing has me in a state of shock and disbelief. My family quotes his benediction and it hangs on our wall to remind us of what a loving and fun friend and leader he was; wearing his kilt, his special white robe, his smiling voice as he narrated the Christmas Story for the living Creche (sometimes showing up with his Santa hat), and on and on….everyone has great remembrances.
    Blair’s legacy is his faith, family, friends and the thousands of lives who benefited from hearing him speak the word.
    I will be traveling the weekend of the memorial and I’m sick that I’ll miss the tribute service so I’ll just have to be content with my final image that is appropriate given his love of sailing; Blair’s final voyage will be him smiling a huge grin with both hands at the helm of a 50 foot schooner close-hauled on a brisk cross-wind with a large Christian Flag atop the mast and the cross of Christ emblazoned on the Mainsail and Jib sheet. My eternal gratitude and peace to you and your family, Blair, and Godspeed on your journey as your living Lord shows you the way…

    Rodger Collins

    Thursday October 13, 2022

    I will begin first and foremost by extending my family's condolences and prayers to Cyndy and the entire Monie family during this time of both profound sorrow but also celebration of one of the most beloved individuals of the Christian community. About 20 years ago I experienced something that left me confused and empty...my church HPPC was in turmoil after Clayton Bell retired and the church chose to go in a different direction that left my family, and many others, behind and as a result made us refugees looking for a new church home. God therefore sent us to Blair and the amazing people at PHPC. I enrolled my daughter (and soon to arrive
    later my second daughter) in the PHPC Day School and she was happy from day one. I went to the Sanctuary that Sunday and within about two sentences from Blair I knew I had found my home again. Both He and Terry, along with the wonderful staff, were creating a magical atmosphere with the word of God in word, music, and deed. Blair was a friend and father figure to both of my daughters who both went through the youth program including the always fun and exciting confirmation with Blair. Blair also served as a friend and spiritual guide to me and my wife and we loved him and appreciated how blessed we were to know such a warm and kind man. His influence on my life truly was a game changer for my spiritual health and my sadness at his passing has me in a state of shock and disbelief. My family quotes his benediction and it hangs on our wall to remind us of what a loving and fun friend and leader he was; wearing his kilt, his special white robe, his smiling voice as he narrated the Christmas Story for the living Creche (sometimes showing up with his Santa hat), and on and on....everyone has great remembrances.
    Blair's legacy is his faith, family, friends and the thousands of lives who benefited from hearing him speak the word.
    I will be traveling the weekend of the memorial and I'm sick that I'll miss the tribute service so I'll just have to be content with my final image that is appropriate given his love of sailing; Blair's final voyage will be him smiling a huge grin with both hands at the helm of a 50 foot schooner close-hauled on a brisk cross-wind with a large Christian Flag atop the mast and the cross of Christ emblazoned on the Mainsail and Jib sheet. My eternal gratitude and peace to you and your family, Blair, and Godspeed on your journey as your living Lord shows you the way...

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