Charles Dow Monroe

(March 22, 1936 – April 4, 2015)

Charles Dow Monroe (Charlie) beloved husband, father, grandfather, and uncle, died peacefully at his home in Sonoma on April 4th, 2015 after a long illness. Charlie was a native of the Peninsula where he lived until he and his wife Liz Monroe moved to Sonoma in 1998. He was a graduate of Menlo School in Menlo Park and received a BA degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. It is there that he made many of his lifelong friends. Charlie spent the majority of his career in banking and finance where he worked for several institutions including U.S. Leasing and Financial Center Bank.

What Charlie was most known for was his big heart, sense of humor, interest in others and love of life. His family, friends and hobbies meant the world to him and he approached them all with a great deal of passion. There is nothing he wouldn’t do to help a family member or friend.

Charlie had a lifelong love of cars. He owned quite a collection of cars over the years and could often be found detailing them in his driveway. He enjoyed attending car shows and showing some of his own classic cars at the Hillsborough Concour d’Elegance. Among his other passions later in life was flying remote control planes at the Sonoma Sky Park in Sonoma. He also enjoyed annual fishing trips to Mexico, Alaska and New Orleans with The Societe’ Pescatoire, a tight knit group of men both young and old who shared a passion for fishing, dominoes and socializing. A fellow member of the Societe’ was Tony Rebele, his best friend of 56 years who passed away in 2014.

Charlie is survived by his wife Elizabeth Morphy Monroe; his daughters Valerie Monroe and Stephanie Monroe Farrell and their mother Ardyth Monroe; his grandchildren Dylan and Sophia Farrell; his nephew Mark Monroe and niece Michelle Monroe.

A celebration of Charlie’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation (www. npcf.org) or a charity of your choice.