Smokejumper Obituary: Monroe, Thomas Sterling "Tom" (North Cascades 1958)

Authors

National Smokejumper Association

Files

Obituary

Sterling Thomas Monroe III, or Tom, as he was known at the jump base, was born in Okanogan, Washington on March 24, 1939. He died December 12, 2022. Tom graduated from Okanogan High School in 1957. He was an outstanding quarterback on the football team. In 1959 Tom married his high school sweetheart Carol Adele Schmidt. In 1958 Tom was a rookie smokejumper at NCSB. During his five-year smokejumper career, Tom made 53 jumps, 34 to fires, and was promoted to squadleader/spotter. Like so many jumpers of the era, smokejumping paid his way through college. After graduating from Washington State University in Business Management in 1963 Tom was employed by the Seattle Seahawks as a Systems Analyst, a position he held from 1979 until 1994.

Identifier

Monroe_Thomas-Sterling-Tom_North-Cascades_1958

Publication Date

May 2023

Keywords

Smokejumping; Smokejumpers -- United States; National Smokejumper Association; Wildfire fighters; Obituaries

Disciplines

Forest Management

Recommended Citation

National Smokejumper Association, "Smokejumper Obituary: Monroe, Thomas Sterling "Tom" (North Cascades 1958)" (2023). Smokejumper Obituaries. 1669.
https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_bios/1669