Monte Flagg (Lansing)

Mr. Monte Khalil Flagg suddenly transitioned to be with our Lord on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, in Lansing, Michigan. Age 51 years. He was born March 17, 1970, in Grand Rapids Michigan, to parents Glenn Vincent Williams and Karen Denean Flagg.

He was a very lively child. In kindergarten, Monte was slated a super-student and in 1976 attended the Kent County ISD Spectrum Program for Gifted Children. In 1979, he and his mother relocated to Lansing, Michigan. The first person he friended was Darnell Wills and they maintained that friendship. He tried various sports. The first time he was hit in the mouth with a ball, that was over! He said, "I like the cheerleaders, but that's all!"  Instead of sports, he opted for the Dwight Rich Junior High School Choir.

Being a creative soul, Monte dreamed up the idea of a fraternity called "World Productions," which included Joseph Hicks (tagged as Joe World), Bernard Fryson (B-World), Tommy Riddle (T-World -deceased), and, of course, MTay-World! Monte carried that tag until last year when he indicated it had been “retired.”  He thought he could bypass high school graduation by taking the GED and was astonished when he could not obtain his diploma until his class graduated in 1988. He then obtained a Barber's license, to collaborate with his father, who owned Glenn's Barber Shop, in Detroit, Michigan. After the collaboration did not happen, he decided to pursue a career in counseling. He obtained an associate degree in Sociology from Lansing Community College, where he was a member of Phi Theta Kappa. His plan to obtain a bachelor’s degree from Spring Arbor College was thwarted when he suffered a stroke in 2012, just fourteen credits short of becoming degreed.

 Monte loved his children dearly, as well as his family and close friends. He never met a stranger and made every effort to get to know everyone and have everyone on both sides of his family get to know him. Monte and his mom were tight - but he truly adored his grandmother, Ledora, who encouraged him to believe in himself so much that she had him thinking he could pray and make it stop raining. His grandmother took him to church regularly during his adolescent years. There he met his second lifelong friend, Yemora Williams. They started out fighting, made up, and remained true-blue forever friends, mainly because they both liked to dress. At Riddle Elementary, he forever befriended Rebekka Grice (whom he called "Bekless"). He held a very close relationship with his brothers, but upon discovering he had younger sisters, Tamika and Kerisha, he was ecstatic, and they became thick as thieves.

Monte sang, danced, dabbled in arts, traveled, and delighted in cooking and eating. Culinary art was the desire of his heart and, even though he did not become an expert chef, soul food was what he put his foot in! On holidays, in addition to eating his own food, Monte liked to dine in the homes of family and friends, especially Barbara Hicks and his great aunt, Vivian Stallworth (deceased). Monte also enjoyed the finer things of life: fancy clothes, hats, fur coats, and flashy cars, which transported him to many ballroom dances. Despite obstacles, he lived his life with zest and zeal.

 To lovingly cherish him in memory he leaves his parents; six children, Anthony and Audrie Haller (special friend, Isayha Davis), Lillyona, Terryonna and Shlynn Flagg, and Coretta Barkel; three brothers, Andre (Naoko) Cross, Glenn (Juanita)  Ellis, Lamont Walker; two sisters,  Tamika Foster and Kerisha (Lydell) Henderson; six aunts, Ethel Walker, Bonnie Valentine, Marva Britton, Darya Moore, Tahia Walls, and LaQuisha Woodard; four uncles, Richard G. and Richard M. Flagg, Maine and Count Williams; many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, including his favorite cousin, Marcel Richardson and dear friends and acquaintances, including special friends, Darnell Wills, Yemora Williams, Rebekka Grice, and Joseph Hicks.   

Monte was preceded in transitioning by his paternal grandparents, James Williams (1991) and Sadie Mae Williams (1993); maternal grandparents, Richard Martin Flagg (2000) and Ledora Bowler-Flagg-Gary (2007); four uncles, Ronnie Williams, Jimmy (James) Williams, Kevin Flagg, and Kevin Glasscoe. 

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”  — Booker T. Washington

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Event Number: 68756

2nd Half of Service: 69023