#310, John Henry (Joe) MONINS

Our picture shows Joe Monins with his daughter, Olive Bridget.

On March 23rd, John Henry Monins, for more than forty years squire of this parish, was laid to rest, near the church and home he loved so well. We speak especially of these things because they were nearest to his heart. His was a busy life. It would be possible to give a long list of public duties, all of which fully occupied his time; for instance, he was Chairman of the Kent Mental Hospital for 25 years; a Justice of the Peace, Alderman of the Kent County Council, Chairman of the Visiting Justices to Canterbury Prison, for many years member of the Diocesan Conference and various church committees, a Major in the East Kent Rifles; Chairman of Petty Sessions; to all these matters he gave his time and interest in faithful service, for he had a strong sense of public duty, but the strongest impressions and lasting memory will be of his own delightful personality and character, so strong in sincerity of faith and withal so kindly and lovable.

His faith inspired his life, it was all so natural and so real; the very simplicity of his life expressed this freedom of spirit, and it helped others to find a character so untouched by the modern spirit of the world, so pure in heart, so delightfully unconventional, yet with the unconscious strength of a mind that valued all that was "true and pure, and of good report." It would be well if every parish could have the same personal help that he gave to every rector here and to all church work.

We shall miss his friendly, cheery nature, above all his earnest reverent faith, the faith of a child in the heart of a man; the "faith which worketh by love." Nothing could have been happier than that last Sunday before the operation, spent in the home and in the midst of all he loved so well. It was so characteristic of what his life had been; the last Communion in the Church, from whose services he was never absent except through illness, the quiet preparation, the courage and faith, the kindly thoughtful acts that marked the day, and during the days of illness the absolute trust in God.

We laid him to rest in the sunlight of a bright spring day, a day full of hope with the promise of renewed life, and with thankfulness in our hearts for the example of his life.

Rev. Gordon Cuming MA

The Church Magazine

St. Nicolas, Ringwould

April 1920.