Charles "Charlie" Poore Munroe's Obituary
Charles “Charlie” Poore Munroe, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and lifelong resident of Miami, Florida, passed away peacefully, leaving behind a legacy as deeply rooted in Biscayne Bay as the mangroves that line its shores. A native son of Coconut Grove, Charlie was the grandson of Commodore Ralph Munroe — explorer, photographer, and one of the founding fathers of Coconut Grove — and he carried that pioneering spirit with him throughout his 88 years.
Charlie grew up at The Barnacle, his grandfather’s storied waterfront home, where he developed a love for the sea and the outdoors that would define him. His childhood was filled with waterfront adventures — building boats, sailing, cruising the bay, and catching land crabs.
He attended Ransom School for Boys and graduated from Coral Gables High School in 1955. He earned his degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech in 1959, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He served his country as an officer in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1961, then transferred to the Naval Reserve, serving four more years.
After the Navy, Charlie began his career as a mechanical engineer with Eastern Airlines. He later joined IBM, where he found work he loved and built a distinguished career that spanned more than thirty years. At IBM, he was a systems engineer, working on mainframe computers for some of Miami’s most prestigious businesses. Charlie retired at the age of 55 and devoted the years that followed to enjoying life with his wife, Mimi.
Charlie and Mary “Mimi” Johnston had known each other all their lives, as their parents, Wirth and Mary Munroe and Tom and Lorine Johnston, were close friends. The two grew closer over time and began dating in college. They shared 63 happy years of marriage and welcomed four children in five years, followed in time by eight grandchildren.
Charlie was a fixture at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, first joining in 1938 as a junior member at the age of one and becoming a senior member in 1959. He served proudly as its Commodore from 1995 to 1997 and remained an active and cherished member of its community for decades.
His love of sailing took him and Mimi cruising with their children through Biscayne Bay, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas aboard their treasured family sailboat, Comanche — a 40-foot cutter designed by his father, Wirth, which the family still owns. A member of the Cruising Club of America, he spent many years cruising with Mimi to the four corners of the world — Japan, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Turkey, Chile, Colombia, the San Blas Islands, the Baltic Sea, and more. Much of that sailing was done as guests of their good friend Scott Piper aboard his yacht, Pipe Dream, a privilege they never took for granted.
He was a parishioner at the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables for 50 years, faithfully attending the early chapel service, and a member of Riviera Country Club for 55 years.
Summers brought Charlie and his family to the cool mountains of Balsam, North Carolina, to escape the Miami heat. Their home in Balsam was a place of deep happiness — so much so that, for the past 32 years, they spent half the year there. Charlie devoted himself to sharing the outdoors with Mimi and their children, whether cruising, hiking, camping, or working side by side on projects. He spent many of his vacation days over the years building a cabin in the mountains with his children, creating not only a home but a store of cherished family memories. He moved through the outdoors with a naturalist’s eye, endlessly fascinated by a spectacular sunset, the birds at his feeder, or the flash of a snake in the leaves. His family remembers with great affection — and his wife, Mimi, with terror — his lifelong habit of never passing a snake without stopping to catch it.
Charlie was known for his warmth, kindness, and easy friendliness. A true gentleman and a man of deep integrity, he had a way of making people feel genuinely welcomed. His face would light up when he saw someone he knew, and he delighted in conversation with friends and strangers alike.
A patient and devoted teacher of the natural world, Charlie showed his children and grandchildren how to look, how to wonder, and how to find beauty in the world.
Charlie is survived by his wife, Mary “Mimi” Johnston Munroe; his four children and their spouses: Anne Munroe Crook and Will, Charles Munroe Jr. and Cynthia “Cindy,” Wirth Munroe and Kristen, and Mary Munroe Seabrook and Bruce; and his eight grandchildren: Emily Crook, Davis Crook, Charles “Connor” Munroe, Wirth Munroe Jr., Madison Munroe, Warren Munroe, Margaret “Maggie” Seabrook, and Virginia “Ginger” Seabrook. Charlie is also survived by his brother, William “Bill” Munroe.
A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables at 4:00 p.m. on July 12, 2026, followed by a reception at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Barnacle Society, which preserves the historic home where Charlie grew up, or to Friends of Biscayne Bay, in honor of his lifelong love of the bay.
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“I have had a wonderful life, a wonderful wife and wonderful children, of whom I am very proud. They and their families are my legacy to this world.” — Charlie Munroe
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