Monroe Charles Ioas

Monroe Charles Ioas
BornDecember 23, 1899
DiedMarch 7, 1992
Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Spouse(s)Gertrude Elizabeth Sunter (1905 - 1971) m. 1926
ChildrenCharles Monroe Ioas
Parent(s)Charles Ioas
Maria Ioas

Monroe Charles Ioas (December 23, 1899 - March 7, 1992) was an American Bahá’í who served on the National Teaching Committee of the United States and the Local Spiritual Assembly of Chicago.

Biography[edit]

Ioas was born into a Bahá’í family in 1899. His parents, Charles and Maria Ioas, had become Bahá’ís the previous year. He met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when He visited Chicago in 1912 and was kissed on the forehead by Him.[1] He was an active Bahá’í in his youth being a member of an early Chicago Bahá’í youth group alongside his siblings, Leroy and Margarite, and other Bahá’ís including Zia Bagdadi.[2]

Ioas also became an active member of the Bahá’í community as an adult serving on the Temple Committee in the 1920's,[3] and the Temple Programme Committee in the 1930's.[4] In his personal life he married Gertrude Sunter in 1926 and they had a son, Charles Monroe, in 1927.[5] He was serving as the Secretary of the the Local Spiritual Assembly of Chicago by 1929,[6] and served as a delegate to the National Convention in the 1930's.[7] In 1938 he was appointed Chairman of the Temple Program Committee,[8] and as a member of the Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan Regional Teaching Committee.[9]

In 1943 Ioas pioneered to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to support the local Bahá’í community after its Local Spiritual Assembly disbanded,[10] but by 1944 he had returned to Illinois chairing the Illinois Bahá’í State Convention that year.[11] As of 1946 he was serving on the National Teaching Committee and assisted in teaching efforts in Denver, Colorado, and Detroit, Michigan,[12][13] and represented the Committee at a major Teaching Conference in New York,[14] before stepping down from the Committee in 1947.[15]

Ioas was appointed to the Central States Regional Teaching Committee in 1949,[16] and as the Committees Chairman in 1950.[17] His son, Charles, pioneered to the Balearic Islands in 1953 for which he was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh.

Ioas remained an active Bahá’í into his later years and in 1987 he was invited to speak at the Wilmette House of Worship at a celebration of the 75th Anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laying the cornerstone of the building.[18] He passed away in 1992 in Alexandria, Virginia, and the Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:

Deeply saddened passing longstanding faithful servant Bahá’u’lláh Monroe Ioas. Kindly extend our loving sympathy to his distinguished family. Assure ardent prayers Holy Shrines progress his soul throughout divine worlds.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ The American Bahá’í (1992). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 23, Issue 6, pg(s) 19. View as PDF.
  2. ↑ The American Bahá’í (1994). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 25, Issue 2, pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ Baha'i News Letter (1927). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 17, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ Baha'i News (1931). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 53, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Monroe Charles Ioas at FindaGrave.com
  6. ↑ Baha'i News Letter (1929). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 35, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1937). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 108, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ Baha'i News (1938). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 118, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ Baha'i News (1938). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 117, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ Baha'i News (1944). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 167, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ Baha'i News (1944). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 172, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ Baha'i News (1946). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 182, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ Baha'i News (1946). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 183, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ Baha'i News (1946). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 190, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ Baha'i News (1947). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 194, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ Baha'i News (1949). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 218, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ Baha'i News (1950). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 230, Pg(s) 23. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ The American Bahá’í (1987). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 18, Issue 6, pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ The American Bahá’í (1992). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 23, Issue 6, pg(s) 19. View as PDF.
Retrieved from "https://bahaipedia.org/index.php?title=Monroe_Charles_Ioas&oldid=150249"

Table Of Contents