David Monroe

1952 - 2025

David Allen Monroe - inventor, entrepreneur, visionary, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and friend - went to be with the Lord on September 19, 2025, at the age of 72. He perished tragically while moving a museum artifact. David made San Antonio, Texas his home for nearly five decades and was a devoted congregant of the Oak Hills Church.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, on November 4, 1952, to George Robert ("Bob") and Alice Floriene Monroe, David's fascination with electricity began before he could read. As a boy, he was so captivated by a library book called The Boy Electrician that he eagerly learned to read so he would be allowed to borrow it. His childhood experiments kindled delight in the house and occasional alarm from his parents. A few favorites were homemade telegraphs, a seventh-grade Tesla coil, and a high school proton accelerator that his father feared would destroy the house.

He graduated from Wichita North High School in 1971 and attended the University of Kansas, where his project to computerize data plotting helped the university earn a National Science Foundation grant. That success led to an internship in San Antonio, Texas with the company destined to become the Datapoint Corporation, where David would help shape the early evolution of the personal computer and microprocessor. At 27, he became a Vice President of Engineering at Datapoint - then a Fortune 500 company - where he contributed to pioneering developments in networking, video, voice, and data integration.

David became a serial entrepreneur and prolific inventor, co-founding Image Data Corporation, and founding PhotoTelesis Corporation, The Telesis Group, Inc., and e-Watch Corporation. His over 50 U.S. patents span imaging, communications, and video transmission systems - including critical innovations that helped lead to the modern camera phone. His work touched countless lives through systems such as hospital teleradiology systems and early wireless video technologies used in government and public safety.

David's love for collecting found its greatest expression in SAMSAT, a world-class museum and education center that he founded with his personal collection of more than 10,000 scientific and technological artifacts. Today, SAMSAT stands as both a museum and an inspiration hub for students and families. David's vision and partnership with Port San Antonio created a space for innovators, educators, and dreamers to build a vibrant community dedicated to STEM learning.

Apart from his work at SAMSAT, his extensive volunteering included serving on the board of St. Peter–St. Joseph's Children's Home and devoting many years of advocacy to strengthen protections for inventors and their patents. His professional accomplishments earned him the San Antonio Technology Lifetime Achievement Award (2015), presented at the InnoTech Conference, the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award (2016), presented at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the Nonprofit & Corporate Philanthropy Award (2022), presented by the San Antonio Business Journal.

David is survived by his wife, Lorena Monroe; his former wife, Karen Monroe and their three children - Adam Alexander Monroe and wife Lauren, Dawn Tracey Monroe Harriman and husband Christopher, and Fox Aven (formerly Katherine Anne) Convey and husband Joshua - as well as five precious grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved parents, George Robert Monroe and Alice Floriene Monroe.

If you wish to honor David's legacy with a gift, a donation to SAMSAT (samsat.org) will help the museum, its staff, and the Monroe Scholars Program to continue to spark curiosity and opportunities for the next generation of innovators.