Alan M. Munroe Obituary
Alan Munroe passed away on Thursday, December 16, 2021, after a six-month illness. Alan was born in Boston on January 16, 1933, to the late George Munroe and Alison (Rutherford) Munroe. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 58 years, Norma (Goyetche) Munroe; his parents and his brother, Robert Munroe. He is survived by his children, Alan Munroe Jr. and wife Linda of Hudson, David Munroe and wife Lynn of Gloucester, Lisa Munroe Korte and husband Jeff of Cambridge, and his sister, Alison VanStry of Burlington. He was the devoted grandfather to Emily (Munroe) Giesler and husband Hunter, Jacob Munroe, and Vivienne Korte.
Alan grew up in Boston and was raised in the Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods. As a young child, he had a wonderful soprano voice and was a soloist with the choir at the Mission Church. He attended Boston Trade High School where he specialized in carpentry and cabinet making, skills that served him well as he enjoyed renovating and rebuilding nearly every part of his home over the years.
After high school, Alan enlisted in the US Navy where he served as a navigator and eventually rose to the rank of Quartermaster First Class. While serving, he traveled extensively through the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Arctic. He could tell wonderful stories from his travels, such as introducing oranges to natives in Greenland and having a camel drool on him in Morocco.
While on leave from the Navy, as his time in the service was ending, he struck up a conversation with Norma, the college girl who waited on him at lunch in Chatham, Cape Cod. They were engaged a few months later and married in 1957 at St Ann's Parish, settling in Norma's hometown of Gloucester.
After the Navy, Alan benefitted from the GI bill and attended New England School of Art, studying advertising and design. He went on to work at the Bailey Press in Boston for almost forty years, designing print advertisements and marketing materials. Art was always a passion of Alan's and he greatly enjoyed painting beautiful landscapes of locations all around Gloucester and Cape Ann.
Alan was a sweet and quiet man, the perfect balance to his friendly and extroverted wife. He had a wonderful sense of humor and, until the last few months of his life, had an astounding memory, able to perfectly recite poetry and lyrics, including many that he learned as a child. A voracious reader, Alan loved books and constantly read, particularly about US history. He enjoyed running and logged many miles over the years, frequently in Ravenswood. He and Norma spent 58 happy years together, raising their children then playing with their grandchildren. Norma and Alan embraced retirement travel and crisscrossed the United States several times in their trusty Honda, visiting Disney World, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and nearly every National Park, Civil War Battlefield and Presidential Library in between.
A private service will be held for family. Memorial donations may be made to the Kaplan Family Hospice House, 78 Liberty Street, Danvers, MA 01923.
Arrangements by Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester, MA.
