James Vincent Monsu

James Vincent Monsu, known to family and friends as Jim, was a South Jersey civil servant who spent 43 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, rising to Chief of Emergency Management. He died on 18 September 2026 at his home in Oaklyn, New Jersey, at the age of 62, after a three and a half year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS.

Monsu was born on 16 June 1964 in Camden, New Jersey, to Vincent and Eleanore Monsu (nee Makohuz), and was raised in nearby Westville. His father had also worked for the Army Corps as a civil engineer and naval architect. Jim followed that path, beginning at the Marine Design Center as a draftsman and project manager before building a federal career that spanned more than four decades with the same district, a rare length of service in any field.

His professional life centered on the quiet infrastructure work that keeps rivers, dams and flood defenses safe. As Chief of Emergency Management he helped coordinate Corps responses that communities often notice only when something goes wrong. He also served on the Power Team, supporting the Corps in collaboration with FEMA after natural disasters, assignments that took him across the United States and to Guam.

Away from the office, Monsu was known for boundless curiosity and hands-on skill. He earned a pilot's license and built and flew his own Zodiac airplane, was SCUBA certified, held a drone license, and restored pinball machines. He had traveled to all 50 states and loved camping, boating and driving. Friends and neighbors in Oaklyn and West Deptford remembered someone who could build or fix almost anything and who was generous with that skill.

He was happiest with his wife Mary (nee Sullivan), whom he married after a celebration in Savannah. The couple enjoyed concerts, boat trips, Phillies games and neighborhood karaoke evenings. He supported sons Nicholas and Christian in racing, car projects and home renovations. He is also survived by two grandchildren, the mother of his children Kimberly Monsu, and sister Kathleen Ellenberg, along with nieces, nephews and a wide circle of friends.

A celebration of life was arranged for 10 October 2026 at Blake-Doyle Funeral Home in Collingswood, New Jersey. The family asked that donations in his memory go to the MDA/ALS Center of Hope at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine. His death closes a career of dedicated public service and leaves a community that described him as someone who lived fully and left nothing unsaid.