Monty Webb was an accomplished teacher, musician

The youngest of 11 children, he was 10 years old when his mother, Edith, died in 1935, in what newspapers called Arizona's worst highway accident.

"He missed her desperately," said Jill Hotchkiss, one of Monty's five children.

After the accident, the younger Webb children were left on their own much of the time while their father, Frank, worked long hours building roads on Mount Lemmon.

"When your mother dies, especially if she dies when you're young, you never forget it. It just makes up part of your being," said Monty's wife of 60 years, Jean Webb.

It was in music — as a teacher and a performer — that Webb found solace and success.

As a young man, Monty was recognized around Tucson as one of the musical Webb brothers. He earned a degree from the University of Arizona and taught music in the Tucson Unified School District for 32 years. Webb's classroom became a haven where children could receive the kind of support and structure that he lost when his mother died.

After retiring from teaching, Webb continued playing professionally until about a decade ago, his wife said, but he was still playing for fun until shortly before his death at home Nov. 13. He was 83.

Monty Webb was born in his family's home in the small, mostly Mormon settlement of Binghampton, near Dodge Boulevard and the Rillito River. His family had moved to Tucson from Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1909, just before the Mexican Revolution.

Their father, a self-taught musician who played the French horn and trumpet, made sure each of his five sons owned an instrument. Monty Webb mastered the clarinet, saxophone and bassoon.

Childhood came to an abrupt end in 1935 for the youngest Webb boys. Their mother and seven other residents of Binghampton were driving through Northern Arizona on their way back to Tucson from Salt Lake City. The road was steep, winding and slick from rain. The driver lost control and their car tumbled end-over-end 75 feet into a rocky canyon. Four adults, two children and an infant died almost immediately. The only survivor was a 3-year-old boy.

It wasn't the Webb family's first tragedy. Before Monty was born, two of Edith and Frank's children died in a house fire.

"They grew up like weeds after their mother died," Jean Webb said. She lived in the same neighborhood and wed Monty when he returned from military service in Germany after World War II. He was handsome, talented, blue-eyed and had a fabulous head of wavy blond hair.

It was the musical training the younger boys pursued on their own and in junior high and high school that kept them out of trouble, Jean Webb said. The close-knit Mormon community also watched over the boys.

In adulthood, the five Webb brothers earned college degrees and became schoolteachers while playing gigs on the side in nightclubs, dance halls and at society galas.

"At one time or other all the Webbs played in my band," said Louis Leon, who entertained Tucsonans for decades with his big band orchestra. "They were all nice guys. They were punctual. They were Mormon, so they didn't really drink. They were good, good musicians."

Even while attending the UA, Monty found himself teaching.

"The (college) kids all gravitated to him for help with their music when he was a student," his wife said.

When Webb started teaching music in elementary and middle schools for TUSD, Bruce Tost was one of his students.

"He was my fourth- through eighth-grade band teacher. He wasn't my first music teacher, but he was the first one who was any good," Tost said.

Tost's first music teacher told his mother he didn't have any musical talent.

"I was one of those lost kids who couldn't really do anything for a while until you find your thing," said Tost, who attended Booth Elementary and Fickett Middle schools.

"I took clarinet and was the world's worst clarinet player," Tost said.

With Webb's encouragement, Tost switched to saxophone.

"He was the coolest music teacher. He treated every child as an individual, so if you were a child that was very sensitive and couldn't deal with life on life's terms, he was a safe place.

"It was the first class I was successful in. It was the kind of class where you could feel safe. That influenced me to be a schoolteacher."

Tost, who plays saxophone with Big Band Express, taught music in the TUSD for more than 25 years.

Retired music teacher Ann Iveson taught with Webb at Booth-Fickett.

"It was over a span of time where kids used to wear their shirts tucked in and their pants weren't hanging off their butts. Then time changed and he was always adjustable to the way things were.

"He was so cool. He had everything under control, even-tempered. You didn't see him lose his temper or shout at the kids. The kids admired him and respected him."

Life Stories

This feature chronicles the lives of recently deceased Tucsonans. Some were well-known across the community. Others had an impact on a smaller sphere of friends, family and acquaintances. Many of these people led interesting — and sometimes extraordinary — lives with little or no fanfare. Now you'll hear their stories. Past "Life Stories" are online at go.azstarnet.com/lifestories