Monks, Charles Kenneth of Wellesley, MA and St. Petersburg, FL passed away on March 27th, 2022 surrounded by his family. Charles was the son of the late Margaret Manderson of Prince Edward Island, Canada and Charles Thomas Monks of Brookline, Massachusetts.
Charles, Kenny to his closest friends and family, was raised by his single mom with his three siblings in Chelsea, MA. He grew up tough and developed a fierce business sense that afforded him great accomplishments throughout his life. His strong survival instinct served as a motivator to hold many street jobs to help with the expenses of the household before he was even a teen. In his twenties, while he was driving a cab in New York, he became a dance instructor at several studios, including the Arthur Murray Dance studio. Later on in his thirties he started his own business with his brother Carl as a car dealer in Framingham, MA. His hard work afforded him to purchase the dealership location, becoming the first property he owned. This very successful endeavor ignited a desire to become an owner and landlord of real estate and he went on to accumulate a number of commercial and residential properties including several gas stations that extend throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Charles had many personal hobbies besides dancing including volunteering his time to local food pantries, learning foreign languages, playing billiards, golfing, and traveling with his wife, but his greatest passion was none of those. Charles’ greatest passion was taking care of his wife and family. He was not only a provider to many, he was also a powerful protector of each and everyone that he considered his family.
Charles was the beloved husband of the late Nancy A. (Balboni) Monks. Charles was the father of Kim (Monks) Gesualdi and her husband Frank of Stow, MA and step-father to Scott W. Palladino and his wife Lisa of Charleston, NC and Ryan P. Palladino and his wife Ana of Westborough, MA. Grandfather of Giselle and Alec, Daniel, Stephen, and Anthony, and McKayla, Ryley, and Alicia. Brother to Barbara Wilson Vaccari, Carl Monks and his wife Rena, and Susan Arsenault and husband John. Uncle of Carmen, Kellie, John Michael, James, Jesine, and the late Kara.
A private service will be held at the convenience of the family at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Charles’ memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).