Charlotte Andersonb Monroe

Charlotte Anderson Monroe

Charlotte A. Monroe began her next great adventure in the arms of our Lord on October 9, surrounded by her loving husband and children.  She succumbed to cardiac arrest, just short of her 91^st birthday and her 69^th wedding anniversary.

Char was born in 1930 in Knoxville Tennessee, of Jim and Amy Anderson.  At 16 she met the love of her life, Bob Monroe, an ex-Navy-enlisted-man who was a new entrant at the U.S. Naval Academy.  It was clear to all from the start that these two were meant for each other.  Char studied art at the University of Tennessee, while Bob was becoming a Naval officer.  She was the Naval Academy’s Color Girl in 1950.

Marriage in 1951 marked the beginning of a storied romance that extended to the present.  It started with 32 years as a Navy wife.  Bob was a seagoing officer, and Char embraced her role of holding the ship’s crewmembers’ families together during their half-year deployments in Europe and Asia.  Partners in every sense, Char thrived as the family’s chief operating officer over countless moves, always responding to impending orders with a cheery “I wonder where we get to go next?”

Char had three children, Bob in 1954, Nancy in 1956, and Sue in 1958.  With characteristic ease, she devoted herself to their development in addition to her Navy responsibilities.  Filling the gaps left by her husband’s fleet deployments, she doubled and tripled her efforts on all fronts, raising amazing adults, each of whom adored her.

For 36 years Char volunteered with the American Red Cross.  Starting in Navy clinics and hospitals, she advanced to the highest positions in the field and in Washington, where she was awarded the prestigious Clara Barton Award.

Bob’s retirement from the Navy (as a Vice Admiral) led to Char’s fourth act as the wife of an industry executive for the next 22 years.  She actively supported her husband’s role of bringing industry’s expertise and experience to our national leaders.

Char was brilliant, resourceful, and compassionate. She enjoyed everything and found beauty everywhere.  Char loved travel, sports, reading, and politics.  Her cross-court forehand was widely feared.  Her green thumb could make everything grow, indoors or out.  As a watercolor artist Char’s skill was phenomenal; she could have supported the family, if she weren’t so busy with everything else!

But home and family were her life’s devotion, guiding the children’s growth and assisting her husband’s career.  In both, she was unrivaled.

Char is survived by her husband, her three children and their spouses, six grandchildren, and spouses, and two great grandchildren.  She leaves in each of them a legacy of love and laughter.

Charlotte will be inurned in the U. S. Naval Academy’s Columbarium in Annapolis.