DENNIS ALFRED MONAGHAN Sept. 15, 1936 − March 22, 2024

Dennis Alfred Monaghan, born in Spokane, WA on September 15, 1936, passed away peacefully in Albuquerque NM on Friday March 22, 2024. Dennis passed just 17 days after his wife of 65 years, ‘Kie’ Monaghan, passed away on March 5, 2024. They were with each other until the very end, as they had lived most of their lives.

Dennis was preceded in death by his mother and father, Alfred & Ann Monaghan, his wife, Carol Ann Swears, and his two sons, Kevin and Todd Monaghan.

Dennis is survived by his two daughters, Kristy & Teri Monaghan, his sister and brother-in-law Deanna & Gordie Pogue, brother and sister-in-law Richard & Karen Monaghan and youngest brother & sister-in-law Joe & Deidra Monaghan.

‘Denny and Kie’ both grew up and met in the Pacific Northwest, where they were married in 1958, and immediately started a family in Spokane, WA and then moved to Seattle in 1961.

Dennis entered the Navy right out of high school and served during the Korean War on the USS Prairie, where he showed his aptitude for fixing things. He went to Gonzaga University in Spokane upon discharge from the Reserves and graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering. Dennis spent his early career with Boeing while in Seattle, and even participated in early NASA projects before being recruited by Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LANL) in 1968.

Dennis was a true adventurer, and with Kie by his side, they were motivated to travel to new places and explore different cultures. Denny was an avid sportsman, who was involved in many outdoor activities including hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family in the wilderness. He and his entire family learned to golf and ski once they moved to Los Alamos, where he was a Little League Coach and Los Alamos Golf Association member. Denny learned to Scuba dive in the Caymans at the age of 69…and spent the rest of his life enjoying his annual trip to the ocean…he particularly loved spearing and eating the invasive ‘Lionfish’.

 Kie and Denny Monaghan. Courtesy photo

‘Denny and Kie’ raised their 4 kids in Los Alamos, NM where he worked for LANL and LATA, before moving to Bethesda, MD in the mid-1980s. After a stint with Consultant Group Booz, Allen and Hamilton, he and Kie opened up their own successful Coffee business up the street from their townhome. They spent nearly 35 years in the DC area, enjoying all the wonderful activities such a metropolitan city could offer; concerts, the theater, sporting events and particularly our Nation’s monuments, were a few of their favorites.

‘Denny and Kie’ returned to NM in 2018, where the two of them spent the last of their time together, enjoying the weather, the neighborhood pool, the unbelievable sunsets and the NM Green Chili cuisine.

There will be a weekend celebration for both ‘Denny and Kie’ in Northern Idaho at Coeur D Alene Lake and at Woodlawn Cemetery in St. Maries, ID. Dates to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, please make honorable donations to the Alzheimer’s association on behalf of Dennis and Carol Monaghan.