John Warren Monks, born in 1947, passed away peacefully at his residence in Clermont, Florida on July 23, 2026.

John was born in 1947, the son of John Henry Monks and Beverley Grady Overbaugh, but he was raised by his grandmother Marie (Pratt) Grady. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Suzanne Swan and his step-son George Swan Jr.

John attended the University of the Pacific and graduated from Sacramento State University majoring in music. While attending college, John was a working musician, performing on trombone in Dance Bands, Swing Bands and Concert Bands all over northern California. He also was hired every year for the California State Fair – performing (with costumes) in the Rodeo Band, the German Band, Stage Bands, and Dance Bands.

John was drafted in the Army during the Vietnam years, but was fortunate to be stationed at Ft Ord, California and Vicenza, Italy and then Fulda, Germany. Upon returning he joined the 59th Army Band of the California Army National Guard located in Sacramento. He worked his way up the enlisted ranks to E8/First Sergeant, the highest enlisted rank in the band field. This is when he met his future wife, Suzanne in 1978. In 1989, John became the Band Commander from 1989 until his retirement in 2007. During that time, John became the ranking Commander in the state of California. During those years, the 59th Army Band was the house band for the Governor, performing in every Inauguration and many of the Governor’s events. One of those Inaugurations grew into an invitation by the 59th to perform at Disneyland on the 4th of July for the following two years. Under John’s leadership the 59th performed thousands of concerts across the state, including large gala events with singers and dancers in the Los Angeles area. In the later years, Lee Greenwood came to the California State Fair to perform God Bless the USA with the 59th. He ended his long and illustrious military career with a rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4, the highest in the Band Commander field.

From 1975 to 2003, John also taught at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, CA, where he built the music program from the ground-up. What started as a single band class became a Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Stage Band, Orchestra, and Pep Band that required two instructors to maintain. For several years, he was the Department Chair of Fine Arts at the school. Over his 28-year career, he taught and guided thousands of students into becoming “Men for Others”, and he served as the finest of examples.

After retirement from the 59th Army Band, both John and Suzanne transitioned to the California National Guard Headquarters, performing state Veteran Honors for deceased veterans. John performed over 400 military funerals and at one point he was the Officer in Charge of the entire program in California, which had nine teams across the state and hundreds of soldiers employed, sometimes performing over 200 funerals per day. He was well known for being able to perform every job on a funeral detail: bugler, Firing Squad Commander, Rifleman, flag folder, and flag presenter. After all his years of military service, he said the Veterans Honors Program was the most rewarding job.

John and Suzanne then migrated to the southern Oregon coast, believing their musical careers had come to an end. Instead, they discovered a vibrant musical community with many opportunities to perform, including with the Oregon Coast Chamber Orchestra in Florence. Once again, John quickly emerged as a leader, serving for many years as the orchestra's Conductor, and Music Arranger.

In 2021, they relocated to Central Florida, where they found several flute ensembles with which to perform. Among them was the Central Florida Sunshine Flutes, a large flute choir based in Orlando. John performed with the group on his Bass Flute, adding the rich, distinctive sound of the instrument to the ensemble.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 15th, 2026 at 2:00 pm at Becker Funeral Home 806 W. Minneola Avenue in Clermont, Florida.

The family suggests in lieu of flowers a memorial in John’s name to the American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org