Mary Monroe

1930 - 2025

Mary Oneida Carey Monroe, was born on January 26, 1930, in a mill town called Dobbinsville, near New Castle, Delaware. As a teenager she joined a Pentecostal church that changed the course of her life. It was there she met her mentor and friend Rita Sutton Kelly. When Rita moved to Chicago, she sent for Oneida to join her. They found employment at the Youth for Christ organization and did clerical work for a young pastor, Billy Graham. They lived at a rescue mission for women and frequently conducted services at Joliet Prison. Rita and Oneida also began a Sunday School in a poor rural village in Cook County. There Oneida met her future husband Jim Monroe, who along with other students at Moody Bible Institute, were establishing a church. Jim and Oneida married on November 23, 1950. They were married for almost 70 years. Jim was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, and Oneida was the homemaker, artist, photographer, sculptor, writer, and educator. After raising two children, Oneida went back to school earning a degree in education, summa cum laude, from the University of Central Florida in 1976. They moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1980. She became a third-grade educator for gifted students until her retirement. They moved to Tallahassee, Florida in 2000, and resided in Westminster Oaks. She devoted herself to volunteering and tutoring children even after retirement and was recognized as volunteer of the year by the Leon County School System. Oneida continued to serve the Presbyterian Church as a Stephen Minister, Her own children referred to her as the Saint for she always saw life in the best of light and took in those who were less fortunate. She passed peacefully on November 5, 2025, at the age of ninety-five. Oneida is survived by her daughter, Marty C. Monroe, son-in-law, John Rimes, her son, James H. Monroe, Jr., daughter-in-law, Barbara Monroe, and grandson, Brian Monroe. A memorial service will be held in January at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In lieu of flowers the family requests that a donation be made to your local Second Harvest Food Bank in her memory.

Breanna Green of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the family with their arrangements.