Monroe Riddle of Coldwell Banker Rocky Point
FROM THE ROCKY POINT TIMES
Editors Note: Monroe Riddle is one of our communities most respected real estate investment advisors. His journey to Rocky Point exemplifies both the financial and spiritual rewards that our community offers, and we are pleased to present this profile of this unusual man.
Born in Kiowa, Kansas, Monroes' father Jack Riddle -- the son of an immigrant of Irish / Dutch / French ancestry -- ran the local gas company, but Monroe puts that into perspective. "When I was a child Kiowa was maybe five houses and two or three commercial businesses. That was it. It's still only about 1500 today!"
Monroes' mother Vernah Jackson was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, and a devout Christian, a faith that she passed along to her son. "Mother was born-again when she was pregnant with me. That gave me a head-start on faith." Monroe was born-again when he was eight years old, and faith has informed his entire life.
Monroes' family moved to Granite, Oklahoma, when he was just one year old. The family owned a hotel, which also served as a long-term care facility for state supported elderly and terminally ill. The experience of caring for the elderly left a strong impression on the young Monroe.
"In those days there really weren't nursing homes. The state would pay hotels to house and care for the elderly and dying. One wing of our hotel was set aside for those guests, and I was a sort of bell-boy for them. I delivered food to them, ran errands for them, really just helped them in any way they needed to be helped. They were really great people, and I got very attached to them. It was very hard when they died. It was just a terrible loss. I was just a kid. I didn't know they were there to die in the first place."
In 1941 the family moved to Phoenix where Monroes' father had taken a job with Coca Cola. Monroe went to Phoenix public schools, and graduated Phoenix Union High School in 1949. He paints a picture of the Phoenix of the late1940's that present day residents and visitors can scarcely imagine. "The greater Phoenix area probably had a population of about 60,000 in those days. Central and Roosevelt -- which today are in the heart of the city -- were the city limits! It was just a tiny little village set in this beautiful unspoiled valley."
Monroe treasures his childhood saying, "I wouldn't trade my childhood for anything. Granite and the Phoenix of those days were just great places to grow up."
Fresh out of High School -- and at the start of the Korean War -- Monroe enlisted in the Navy.
"I thought the Navy would give me a chance to see the World and, boy, it sure did! And some very nice parts of the World! Right after basic I was stationed in Hawaii. It was so beautiful and clean in those days, and -- coming from the desert -- the ocean was just amazing! And then I got real lucky. I was in an ice cream parlor one day and I met a gentleman -- Commander Walton -- who had a big influence on me. He was a former Vice President of Montgomery Wards, and he was running all the concessions in Hawaii for the Navy. He got me assigned to him and gave me a job running the enlisted mens' bar at the receiving station in downtown Honolulu. I did that for about a year. It was very exciting, a lot of fun. It may sound like a strange Navy story, but I learned a lot about marketing from that guy. You never know what lesson life is going to teach you."
But Monroe wanted to get to Korea, and kept putting in requests for transfer. Commander Walton wasn't very happy with that idea but finally relented, telling Monroe, "Don't be mad at me later. I'll get you to Korea." Orders came through as promised, and Monroe became a part of the MSTS -- the Military Sea Transport Service. Monroe relishes his memories of this service saying, "I really enjoyed the MSTS. Many people serving on our transports weren't in uniform -- they were civilians. The Merchant Marines have a great union! We ate great food! I got to Korea and lots of other Asian ports-of-call. It was a wonderful time."
After the Navy Monroe returned to Phoenix, and began his lifelong involvement with construction and real estate. He accepted a position as an estimator for a large commercial painting contractor and rapidly rose to become general manager, a position he held for thirteen years.
In 1977 he started his own commercial painting firm, Monroe Riddle Painting, specializing in large-scale industrial projects. "Our assignments were usually big exterior jobs; water treatment plants, sewerage treatment plants, pumping stations. It was interesting work, and you get to see the fruits of your labor on these big structures all around town!"
Monroe also held a real estate license in Arizona for 25 years which he used for a number of purposes, including acquiring unusual properties as personal investments. A self-described "gold mining freak", Monroe and a partner once owned ten gold mines in Arizona -- which turned out to be very profitable, but not because of gold. "We never made a dime on the gold. We made our money on the real estate!"
In 1990 what Monroe describes as "a most important event in my life" occurred: He fell in love with his friend, Maria Lohmann.
Maria is originally from Santa Monica, California, and went to schools in Los Angeles. She is an accomplished business person having at various times been a senior escrow officer for both Minnesota Title and Stewart Title, an RN in emergency rooms, and Senior Health Care Manager for Digital Equipment Corporations' western operation. She is also an accomplished musician, having played classical piano since the age of seven. Maria is rather modest about her accomplishments, but Monroe is succinct on the subject saying, "Maria is totally brilliant."
Their courtship was rapid, and involved Rocky Point from its very early days. Monroe recalls, "We began taking trips to Rocky Point in 1990. We both loved the community and the beautiful beaches. We both saw a future here together from the very start." When asked when they were married, they look at each other, and an unusual story emerges.
Monroe: "Well, we were married for the first time in Rocky Point. In 1992 at the old Via Granada Hotel. But we never did do the paperwork. So I guess the marriage wasn't legal in the United States."
Maria: "Or Mexico."
Monroe: "Right. Or Mexico. So we got married again in 1997 in Las Vegas at the top of the Stratosphere Hotel."
Maria: "It's a beautiful Chapel. You just keep going up, and up, and up. You're in the clouds."
Monroe and Maria visited Rocky Point many weekends in the 90's and early 2000's, and started buying commercial and residential property here in 1996. They built a little house on Sonora, east of Boulevard Dominguez and moved into it full time in 2004. In 2006 they moved to a condominium overlooking our beautiful Sea of Cortéz. They own a number of properties and are very happy full-time residents of our community.
Faith has continued to play a central role in their lives, and they have found in Rocky Point their perfect church, Compañerismo Cristiano de Peñasco (Peñasco Christian Fellowship), located on Melchor Ocampo and Tecla Bustamente. Monroe says, "Our congregation is 95% Mexican, but the services -- thanks to our missionary-pastor Stan Tedrow -- are bi-lingual." Maria states simply, "It's the best church either one of us has ever been a part of."
Beyond active involvement with Compañerismo Cristiano de Peñasco, Maria has many roles in Rocky Point, including being part of the management team at our popular Black Dog Restaurant, and serving numerous Rocky Point individuals and businesses as computer consultant at her firm, RP Computer Services.
Monroe is a Senior Commercial Specialist at Coldwell Banker Rocky Point, and relished his work there. "In a lot of ways, my job is pretty easy. I believe in this community, and I believe in -- and have personal experience of -- the profitability of investment in Greater Rocky Point real estate. It's a real joy to help others experience the same types of blessings -- both on a financial and lifestyle level -- that Maria and I have, and to see them find their perfect place in our community."
Maria: "This is the perfect life. We love our church, our jobs, our friends, and we love this community. We've never been as happy anywhere else."
Monroe: "We'll never go back. We love this place."
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