Alumni Hall of Fame
Academic and Professional Achievement (2013)

Eldon E. Montague, a native of St. Marys, is a 1938 graduate of Memorial High School. He has distinguished himself by his long career practicing in, and by his service to, law profession in the State of Ohio, and by his personal dedication and service to the people and community of St. Marys.

After graduating from Memorial High School, Eldon attended Wittenberg College, from which he received a Bachelor Degree in 1944. During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. and received an honorable discharge as a First Lieutenant after serving in the South Pacific. He is proud of his service as a veteran and is a 50 plus year member of the American Legion.

After World War II, Monty, as he is known to all of his friends and associates, attended the Ohio State University College of Law and received his Juris Doctor Degree there in 1949. In that same year, he passed the bar and was admitted as an attorney to the practice of law in Ohio. He worked for the Celina Insurance Group, and was the head of their Claims Department.

In 1961, he partnered with Edward S. Noble to form the law firm of Noble & Montague, now known as Noble, Montague & Moul. He has practiced law in St. Marys with that firm since it was founded.

Mr. Montague is a distinguished trial lawyer well known for his abilities before juries. He served as President of the Auglaize County Bar Association in 1967, and from 1982 until 1985 he served on the Governing Board of the Ohio State Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation and is very well respected in the legal profession.

Monty has always had a strong personal and professional interest in the betterment of the St. Marys area community.

Mr. Montague served on the St. Marys Community Public Library Board of Directors for thirty-two years, from 1962 to 1994, including twelve years as President. During that time, a levy was passed to fund the construction of a new library building at the corner of Chestnut and South Streets, which was dedicated on Veterans' Day in 1981. Monty was active with the St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce, serving as President of the Chamber Board of Directors. In 1970, he organized the annual Walk With Nature, that takes place on the tow path of the Miami and Erie Canal and continues to be a special event in St. Marys. The Chamber honored Eldon E. Montague in 2002 with its prestigious Builder of Bridges Award.

Mr. Montague served on the St. Marys Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee of 1973. In 1990, Mr. Montague was the instigator and founder of the Big Brothers-Big Sisters organization in Auglaize, Van Wert and Mercer Counties. He was President of the St. Marys Area United Way, he was a leader in the St. Marys/Hokudan-Cho Japanese Sister Cities Exchange in 1997, and the St. Marys Jaycees awarded him their Distinguished Service Award. Along with his business partner Edward S. Noble, Eldon E. Montague was selected by the Auglaize County Council on Aging as the Outstanding Senior Citizen in 2011.

Mr. Montague also has a strong interest in local history, and in 2007 he wrote and published a well-received autobiography entitled Growing Up During the Great Depression and Beyond.

For more than sixty years of expert and devoted service to his chosen profession, and for his willingness to volunteer that expertise to many worthy public projects and organizations serving the greater St. Marys community, Eldon E. Montague is inducted into the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame for Academic / Professional Achievement.

The above text, in its entirety, is embossed on a St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Hall of Fame plaque permanently on display in Memorial High School.

Eldon E. Montague passed away in 2018.