by Mike Weland Monte W. Kieling, 55, St. Maries, passed away in his sleep September 3 of an apparent heart attack. At his request, no services are planned, but additional information may be released regarding an amazing man. He was born in Portland, Oregon, May 19, 1956, to William and Pauline Olson Kieling. He grew up in Seattle, graduating in 1974. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in communications/journalism from Washington State University, and went on to work as a sports reporter for a newspaper in Ephrata, Washington, and later for the Shoshone Daily News in Wallace. He went into law enforcement with the Shoshone County Sheriff's Department in the early 1980s, and not long after took his talent to the Benewah County Sheriff's Officer, working as a dispatcher and a jailer. He moved to Bonners Ferry in 2002, and sat behind the microphone in the sheriff's office until 2007, when he went back to St. Maries as a detention deputy. He was pursuing an on-line Master's Degree in Criminal Justice from Columbia Southern University, Orange Beach, California, when he died. At the time of his death, Monte was a member of the Benewah County Sheriff's Office. Before he accepted a position there, he served for several years as a dispatcher with the Boundary County Sheriff's Office, and his became a well known voice in this community; unflappable, friendly, with a penchant for diction, even if that diction didn't necessarily come from a dictionary. To this day, people inside and outside the sheriffs office here still refer to his precise calls for help in medical emergencies, and his way of speaking, so clear you can't mistake it ... "Boundary Volunteer, we need an Am-bu-lance ..." While most law enforcement dispatchers accept that they spend their working hours in a cell, Monte never forgot he was in the public eye. On the phone, his was a friendly voice of calm and reason, whether you were a journalist calling for information in the midst of a crisis or a citizen calling for help. And when you met him outside the call center, he always had a smile and something nice, something perfectly right, to say. You could never be mad at Monte, and if you had a beef with the Sheriff or a deputy or anyone else, he had a way of melting that anger, of being part of the solution, and not a problem. His wasn't the best looking face or figure, but those who knew him came away forever touched by the beauty of his heart. As a volunteer with the North Bench Fire Department, he was not only there to stand in harm's way, but to make friends with the people he served, especially the kids, and to bring about an understanding of their concerns and the realities faced by the people he worked with. News of Monte's passing has hit the people who knew him in the Boundary County Sheriffs Office hard, as well as personnel who most lately worked with him in the Benewah County Sheriffs Office. Both agencies have been hard on the phone with Hodge's Funeral Home seeking to know when and how they can pay their respects, but thus far, there's little planned in the way of remembrance. He leaves behind only two people, a sister who is not doing well in her battle with cancer, and a 91-year-old father, William, also not in the best of health, who flew in from Seattle today to oversee his son's final arrangements. Those who'd like to send condolences and memories to Monte's father can write, William Kieling, 7125 Fauntleroy Way S.W., Room K-213, Seattle, WA 98136.
