Harold "Hal" Monk

Harold “Hal” Monk passed away peacefully in Fort Worth on December 9, 2024. Hal was born in Levita, Texas on November 24, 1931 to Ella Ivydale Rhoades Monk and David Charles Monk.

Hal Monk lived a life worthy of a movie script. When he was 13 years old, he got a job at the Temple airport because of his love of airplanes. At age 14, he flew his first solo flight in a 65HP Taylorcraft. At age 15 Hal left high school, forged his enlistment papers, and joined the military.in order to fight in World War II. He later joined the Air Force, with the same forged papers, and worked on a C-82 crew.

 After the War, Hal worked as a Country and Western Disk Jockey for Radio Station KXOL in Bryan and as a journalist for the Bryan Daily Eagle, Austin American Statesman and Jackson, Mississippi State Times. He was highly respected in both fields.

 Later in life he worked as a private investigator in Fort Worth and went on to become an attorney and work in various public and private roles. Hal worked on a number of high-profile cases that included the defense of Jack Ruby, the exhumation of Lee Harvey Oswald, and a case involving Zsa Zsa Gabor. His stories of her deposition are legendary.

 Hal became an attorney by passing the Texas Bar with an extremely high score, a notable feat for a person who never attended law school or graduated high school. It was his reputation for integrity and attention to detail led him to become an Administrative Law Judge for the Texas Merit System Council and the Executive Assistant to the Texas Attorney General.

He would argue tirelessly in court over minor details because they were major details to his clients. No corporation was too big or powerful for him to challenge. Hal was proud to tell you he was a trial lawyer. Hal Monk, a man who did not finish high school or attend law school, received the H.G. Wells Award in 2011, the highest honor given to a practicing attorney by the Tarrant County Trial Lawyers Association.

No manner of professional accomplishments would ever trump his greatest feat, convincing a young TCU coed named Betty Jean Loyd to agree to go out with him. While Hal had no problem jumping from career to career, he cherished the 68 years he was married to his love Betty.

Hal was preceded in death by his parents, by his daughter Darla Diane Harder, and by his wife of 68 years Betty Jean Loyd Monk. He is survived by his son David Monk, his daughter Suzanne Kelly; grandchildren: Allen Small, Steven Small, Sarah Grace Small, Jennifer Monk Quinene, Rebecca Monk, Alexander Harder; and nine great-grandchildren.

 A memorial service will be held Sunday, December 15 at 3 p.m. at Lucas Funeral Home at 1321 Precinct Line Road, Hurst, Texas. We will celebrate a life well-lived.