James (Jim) Julius Monroe, expert gardener, bogey golfer, journalist, newspaper publisher and owner, died Saturday, July 25th, 2015. He was 89.Born in Freeman, Missouri and raised in Big Cabin, Oklahoma, Jim was the youngest son of Carl and Grace Monroe. He grew up on a dairy farm and worked the summers baling hay, hunting rabbit and caddying at The Vinita Country Club. In 1943 Jim followed his older brother Ed into the armed services to fight in World War II, lying about his age to join the U.S. Navy at 17. He served as a radar man in the Amphibious Forces stationed in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and North Africa. Jim left the service as an officer in 1946 and turned a GI Bill into a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma. He was named Outstanding Journalism Graduate in 1952. His professional career began that spring at the Norman Transcript as the sports editor. He worked as a reporter at the Enid Morning News and the Daily Oklahoman before joining the Associated Press for eight years. He was a founder and first president of the Oklahoma City Press Club. In 1963 Jim left journalism for politics, becoming the executive secretary of the Oklahoma State Democratic Party. The next year U.S. Senator Fred R. Harris brought Jim to Washington D.C. as his press secretary. He was appointed as the Senator’s administrative assistant in 1969 and handled scheduling and press relations for his 1972 presidential bid. Jim returned to his Oklahoma roots in 1972 by purchasing the McCurtain Gazette, a small daily newspaper in Idabel. He believed in the power of a local paper to help bond and unite a community and would eventually hold an ownership stake in ten small-town newspapers in Oklahoma, two in Arkansas and one in Texas. Jim was instrumental in founding the Kiamichi Owa-Chito Festival of the Forest and served as the first chairman in 1973. It has since become the premiere tourist event of Southeastern Oklahoma featuring Native American culture and arts, forestry competitions and live music by national recording artists. He was the driving force behind the Forest Heritage Center in Beavers Bend State Park, a museum for the lumber industry and wood artistry, and the E.T. Dunlap Center for Higher Education in Idabel. In 1996, Jim was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. He served on the Board of the Oklahoma Citizens Commission on Education, the Oklahoma Forestry Association, the Oklahoma Historical Association, the RedArk Development Authority, and the University Hospital in Oklahoma City, now known as the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Jim loved his family, homegrown tomatoes, his wife’s cooking, Pink Panther movies, OU Sports and evenings on the patio. He was an avid reader of history and politics and maintained a diverse group of friends from varying political views, religious preferences and educational backgrounds.Jim is survived by his best friend and wife of 48 years, Betty, his daughter, Jeanne and husband Dennis Wilson of Idabel, son, Travis and wife Margie from Norman, and son, Mark and wife Lisa from Los Angeles, and many, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Julie Conner.Services are scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Friday, July 31, 2015, at the McFarlin United Methodist Church in Norman, Oklahoma, with Rev. Cal Brannon officiating. Private family burial will be held at Sunset Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: The Alzheimer’s Association
– Oklahoma Chapter. Cityplex Towers, 2448 E. 81st St. #3000, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137.Services have been entrusted to Primrose Funeral Service. Please sign the online guest book at www.primrosefuneralservice.com – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/oklahoman/obituary.aspx?n=JAMES-MONROE&pid=175388146#sthash.xZu8JQZT.dpuf
