After a several month battle with cancer, Carlton "Lee" Monroe died at home on June 1st, at the age of 59, with his wife by his side. He was a pillar of grace and strength until the end.

Lee was born in Atlanta, GA, on February 14, 1958 to Harold and Helen Monroe. He was the youngest of seven children, but grew to be the biggest among them. The family later resided in Albany, GA and eventually Tallahassee, FL.

Lee studied music at Florida State University where he led the trumpet section of the FSU Marching Chief Band, played lead trumpet in jazz ensembles, and served as president of his music fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi. Before leaving Tallahassee to try to find work as a musician in Orlando, he met his future wife, Rosanne (Limmer). After her graduation from FSU she joined him in Orlando and they were married on September 2, 1984.

In Orlando, Lee began working as a hand copyist. At the same time, he and Rosanne opened and operated Jungle Gymsters, then Olympus Gymnastics, for nearly a decade. Together they trained children in gymnastics and coached successful competitive gymnastics teams, one of which won a state championship.

Lee was a proud and devoted father to Andrew, born in 1991, and Sarah, born in 1992. He was extremely involved in all of the kids' interests and activities. He practiced tennis, softball, and baseball with both; kept stats for their various teams; and served as Outdoor Director for Andrew's Boy Scout troop. Lee also nurtured Andrew and Sarah's musical talent. He provided them with top-notch music teachers and he himself directed the choir at the Synagogue. Lee transformed his fascination with role playing games into weekend sessions for his kids and their friends. Family always came first with Lee.

In 1994 Rosanne and Lee closed the gym business. Lee then founded Express Music Services, Inc. that contracted with Disney to restructure the Disney Music Library, create sheet music for live shows, and eventually helped manage the Disney Entertainment department. He and his colleague Ashley Wells created fonts of their hand music calligraphy for computer copy work. The fonts are now included with commercially sold Finale® software. Lee's expertise, work ethic, and intelligence brought him to the top of his field.

When Andrew and Sarah became adults and left home, Lee became heavily involved in community activities. He headed neighborhood security for several years and pitched in to organize neighborhood social activities. In his free time, Lee enjoyed playing tennis, cooking, gardening, biking, strategy and computer gaming, Civil War reenactment, Mexican train, donating to Kickstarter and expanding his movie collection. Lee was the music director for a couple of theater productions by the Circle Christian School. He vocally trained the young actors, and hired and led professional musicians to play in the pit for those musicals, "Bye, Bye Birdie" and "Guys and Dolls."

Lee was a mentor to his family, colleagues, and friends. He had a dry sense of humor, a healthy curiosity about the world, and a deep respect for people of integrity and sincerity. Lee touched many lives in many positive ways. He will be greatly missed.

Lee leaves behind his beloved wife, Rosanne, who feels blessed to have lived more than "33 perfect years with him" and equally beloved children, son Andrew (and wife Ruby) of Scott Air Force Base, IL and daughter Sarah of Denver, CO.

Lee is also survived by several siblings: brother Michael "Mick" and his wife Linda "LB", brother Bill and his wife June, brother Phillip and his wife Maryanne, brother Tim, and brother-in-law Preston Hardy. He was predeceased by his father and mother, Harold and Helen, brother Andrew "Andy," and sister Patricia "Tish" Hardy.

A celebration of life will be held for Lee on Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the Metrowest Golf Club, 2100 South Hiawassee Road, Orlando, FL 32835. Family, friends, and neighbors are invited.

In lieu of flowers, Lee's family would appreciate remembering him with a gift to:

Hospice of the Comforter
480 West Central Parkway
Altamonte, FL. 32714
OR
South Orlando Jewish Congregation
11200 S Apopka Vineland Road
Orlando FL 32836
OR
Impact Church of Central Florida
7380 Sandlake Road
Orlando, FL. 32819