Obit: Solie, Marshall Reinhold (1919 - 2017)

Transcriber: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Dahl, Ferris, Hagen, Jaskowski, Lambo, Lanners, Leinon, Olson, Patterson, Schottelkorb, Solie, Thompson

----Source: The Cornell Courier - Sentinel (Cornell, WI) 12/26/2017

Solie, Marshall “Monk” Reinhold (16 MAY 1919 - 22 DEC 2017)

Marshall “Monk” Reinhold Solie, 98, Eau Claire and formerly of Cornell, passed away with his family by his side Friday, Dec. 22, 2017, at Dove Healthcare West – Eau Claire.

Marshall was born May 16, 1919, to Henry and Jennie (Dahl) Solie, in Stanley. He graduated from Cornell High School in 1937, and married Gertrude Hagen in Osseo, Aug. 27, 1960.

Monk’s first love has always been baseball. He entered the Rogers Hornsby School of Baseball in Hot Springs, Ark., in 1940. That same year, he signed a baseball contract with the Newport (Arkansas) Dodgers, a Triple A farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

He entered World War II in February 1941, as a combat engineer in the United States Army’s 3rd Infantry. He was severely injured in February 1944, and his professional baseball career was ended.

Monk’s military honors include the Purple Heart, the Croix de Guerre with Palm and the European-African-Middle East Theater Ribbon, with one Silver and three Bronze Battle Stars.
In addition, Major League Baseball provided Monk with a Lifetime Gold Pass for free admission to any professional baseball game as a tribute to his sacrifice. Monk returned to local baseball in 1947, playing for the Cornell Union Giants and Chippewa River Baseball League until 1966. He was inducted into the Chippewa River Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2013.

Upon returning home from World War II, Monk worked as a butcher until his retirement, and was a lover of hunting, fishing and outdoor sports, while continuing to coach and teach youth in the Cornell area the passion of baseball for many years. Monk will be dearly missed by his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife – Gertrude, Eau Claire; daughter – Kären Solie (Gino Lambo), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla.; son – Jon (Ann) Solie, Eau Claire, and their daughter – Karen (Jonathan) Ferris, and their children – Alexis and Isaac, Edina, Minn.; sisters-in-law – Lorraine Solie, Delray Beach, Fla., and her daughter – Sue (Jim) Patterson, Palm Beach, Fla., and Ellen (Rocky) Thompson, Osseo, and their children – Jacob (Cindy Haug) Thompson, Strum, and Jessica (Brandon) Leinon, Osseo; brothers-in-law – William Jul Hagen, Great Falls, Mont., and Michael Olson, Strum, and his children – Scott (Lyndy) Olson, Glenwood City, Bjorn (Judy) Olson, Eau Claire, Lisa (Jerome) Lanners, Altoona, and Lori (Tom) Jaskowski, Eleva; and beloved dog friends – Buddy and Elle; as well as many other extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents – Henry and Jennie Solie; brother – O.B. Solie; parents-in-law – William and Ruth Hagen; and sisters-in-law – Helen Hagen and Rachel Olson.

A memorial service will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Cornell, Saturday, Jan. 6, at noon, with Pastor Andy Schottelkorb officiating.

Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 5, at Borton-Leiser Funeral Home in Cornell, and from 11 a.m.-noon, Saturday, at the church.

Interment with full military honors will be at the Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spooner at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be given in the name of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 201 South 6th St., Cornell, WI 54732.

The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Dove Healthcare West for their generous care and support of Monk over the past two years.