Michael Duane Monroe, 74, of Centerville, South Dakota, formerly of Howard, SD, died December 19, 2018 at the VA Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. Memorial services with military honors will be held at 10AM on Friday, January 4, 2019 at Wass Funeral Home in Centerville, SD with burial to follow at Belleview Cemetery in Howard, SD.

Mike was an only child born December 2, 1944 in Sioux Falls, SD to Ralph Monroe and Ruby Hegdahl. He was raised and educated in Howard, SD and also in Kansas. He worked when he was a teenager for M.D. Hegdahl Co., a house moving business. Mike joined the US Army in 1962 and served for eight years working with the Pershing Missile Unit and as an instructor/ drill sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1970. In 1972, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps and served four years as a programmer/analyst and worked during the evacuation of Viet Nam and at the refugee camp at Grand Island, P.I.

Following his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, Mike worked in various construction jobs in MO, AZ and SD. He worked with Henry Carlson Construction in Sioux Falls as a safety director. Mike was in a serious car accident in 1990 that crushed his legs. Along with the skilled doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, his sheer will and determination got him up and walking in a few years. During that time Mike met Vicki Salberg and they have been together ever since. They lived in Sioux Falls and eventually made their home in Centerville.

Although Mike was quiet man, he was a friend to many and enjoyed the feeling he got by helping others in need. He liked drawing home improvement plans and then building them and he was a great writer of letters.

He is survived by his children, Dan Monroe of Farmington, MN, Mike Monroe, Jr. of LeCenter, MN, Jo Monroe of Champlin, MN and Lance of Rochester, MN and their children; his partner of 28 years, Vicki Salberg of Centerville and her children, Adam, Kayla and Haley Salberg and their children. He was preceded in death by his mother, father and many friends.