U.S. Navy
Cmdr. William D. Monroe III

HARPSWELL – Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. William D. Monroe III, passed away peacefully in Brunswick on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. He was surrounded by his loving children and beloved grandchildren.

Bill was born July 19, 1931 in Washington D.C. to Dr. William D. Monroe Jr. and the former Emma Jane Lewis of Washington D.C.

Bill was educated at Sidwell Friends School in Washington; the United States Naval Academy and also Naval Postgraduate School. Following graduation from the USNA at Annapolis, Md., he served 26 honorable years in the United States Navy, retiring in 1975. Bill then spent 17 years as a manager with the TRW Corporation in the Washington Metropolitan area, from which he retired in 1994.

Bill and his beloved wife, Jean Lister Monroe of Sheffield, England, met in Malta in 1958. They were married for 60 years, until Jean’s passing March 21, 2019.

As they have requested, both Bill and Jean will be inurned together at Arlington National Cemetery with their son, William D. Monroe IV, who predeceased them in December of 2000.

Bill is survived by his sons, Thomas E. Monroe of Harpswell, David L. Monroe of California, Md.; daughter, Janine C. Monroe of Harpswell; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren here in Maine, Maryland and Georgia.

Bill was an enthusiastic pilot “he loved to fly!’ could never come close to the joy it brought to his life. He earned his first pilot’s license while in high school and proudly flew for the Navy for many years.

Bill and Jean were married in Virginia in 1959. They traveled extensively with their children in America, the UK and lived briefly in Iceland.

His family who love him so very much ask that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Maine Veterans’ Project, or to the American Cancer Society.