Alan S. Montague, of North Bend, Ohio, had a knack for organizing, planning and problem-solving. He helped supervise construction of one of the county’s most ominous buildings – the $56 million Justice Center – before retiring in 1984 as director of public works for Hamilton County. Mr. Montague also kept the small Village of North Bend running as its mayor, following in the footsteps of his father, Samuel. Those attributes also filtered over to his family life, said a niece, Anne Montague of Clifton. Mr. Montague could always be counted on to bring the family together, whether it was the annual family hike and cookout at Indian Creek in North Bend or the large-scale Florida trip he put together for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in 1967. The challenge, as his niece tells it, is that some family members were wary of planes and refused to fly to St. Petersburg. But that didn’t deter Mr. Montague from making sure all 16 family members made it there. “”We drove straight through on our own private charter Greyhound bus,”” his niece said. That special moment and others were remembered Monday at a memorial service for Mr. Montague, who died Thursday at his North Bend home. He was 87. Mr. Montague began a life of public service in 1943, when he was inducted into the Army while attending The Citadel military college in Charleston, S.C. A second lieutenant in the Ordnance Department, he arrived in France near the end of World War II. Mr. Montague finished college at The Citadel, completing his degree in civil engineering in 1947, and returned home to North Bend. That same year, at age 26, Mr. Montague decided at the last minute to run as a write-in candidate for mayor. He won the election. After working engineering jobs at Seagram Distilleries and Portland Cement, he joined Hamilton County as sanitary engineer in 1966. Three years later, he was appointed assistant county administrator, then public works director in 1973. Gary Van Hart worked for Mr. Montague fresh out of college, and later returned to the county to replace Mr. Montague after his retirement. (2 of 2) “”He taught me a lot of stuff. His main claim to fame was that he got things done,”” Van Hart said. “”He wasn’t one of these guys that said ‘I’m never going to get in trouble, because I’m never going to make a decision.’ He made decisions and accomplished things.”” Mr. Montague was instrumental in establishing the Metropolitan Sewer District, which consolidated Hamilton and Cincinnati sewer departments in 1968, Van Hart said. He also was active at St. Luke Episcopal Church in Fernbank, were he served at various times as a lay reader, vestry member and senior warden in addition to singing in the choir. His love of singing found another outlet in the Sons of Dixie Barbershop Chorus from 1970 through the next 20 years. As a member of the American Legion’s Miller Stockum Post 485, Mr. Montague marched in the annual Memorial Day parade in Cleves until recent years. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Martha Bixinstine Montague; a son, Alan, of North Bend; a daughter, Nancy Greer, of Ross; a sister, Mary Elizabeth Russell, of Pawleys Island, S.C.; two grandsons; and two step-grandsons. Montague was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery, Cleves. Dennis George Funeral Home in Cleves handled the arrangements. Memorials may be made to Miller Stockum Post 485, 29 E. State Road, Cleves, OH 45002; or St. Luke Episcopal Church, 7350 Kirkwood Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45233. If you have a person you would like considered for Lives Remembered. Tags: 1944
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