Monty George Briggs, 85

On Sunday, July 9, 2023, Monty passed away peacefully at age 85 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with his wife by his side. He was born March 2, 1938, in Cottonwood, Idaho, to Edmund and Beulah (Willey) Briggs and was raised in Grangeville, Idaho. Monty had two children, Marlene and Rick, with his first wife.

Monty moved to Pullman, Wash., and lived there for 36 years, where he worked for several years as a truck driver for Chevron and then Palouse Producers before buying the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Store and operating it for seven years.

After receiving a great offer for the store, but not being quite ready for full retirement, Monty went to work for Motley & Motley Construction, driving truck. He retired for good in 2001 when he and Colleen moved to Coeur d’Alene, where he has lived for 22 years.

Monty loved to travel. He and Colleen traveled to the East Coast several times, and to the Southwest several winters, spending time with good friends Al Schnatz and Sylvia McCallum. They cruised to Alaska to celebrate the end of Colleen’s treatment for breast cancer in 2004, followed by a two-week trip to Europe in 2007. Their next big adventure was a cruise through the Panama Canal in 2010. This included stops in several Central American countries as well as Colombia.

One of the reasons Monty loved all of this traveling was getting to meet so many new and interesting people.

Then, of course, there were all the Cougar Club trips to various bowl games, which usually included side trips to interesting or fun local attractions. Monty loved to fish, boat on Lake Coeur d’Alene and play golf. He attended WSU Cougar football and men’s basketball games in Pullman with friends and family for over 50 years and then watched them on television after traveling to the games was no longer possible.

Monty is preceded in death by his parents, son Rick Briggs and his sister, Cyndi Lucke.

He is survived by his loving wife, Colleen Briggs, daughter Marlene (Dennis) Vermillion of Spokane, Wash.; brother Ron (Eileen) Briggs of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; brother-in-law David Lucke of Spokane, Wash.; two grandchildren, Kristie and Ross Vermillion of Spokane, Wash., Colleen’s three brothers and two sisters and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, at Community United Methodist Church (1470 W. Hanley Ave. Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815). Please visit Monty’s online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.