Allan H. Monroe

Allan H. Monroe. On the morning of Nov. 6, Allan H. Monroe left this world. Many knew the tall, elegant man with the long gray ponytail and the deep voice, but few knew of his accomplishments. After graduating from the Univer- sity of Chicago, he was a founding professor at Moraine Valley Community College and taught English, communications, and humanities for 25 years. During that time, he was President of the Moraine Valley Teachers Association for more than five years and served on the Executive Committee for several years before that. One of his colleagues said ''When I think of the union, the union is Allan Monroe.'' After he retired from teaching, he became a well known actor and model. Portraits, sketches and statues of Allan grace many places in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and private galleries. Allan's generosity exceeded his means. Among the causes and charities he supported are the American Civil Liberties Union, the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago, the Humane Society of the United States, and many other animal welfare organizations. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann; his son, Michael; his daughters, Victoria and Jocelyn; and his dear aunt, Irene. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Humane Society of the United States (www.hsus.org).
Published in the Chicago Tribune on 11/19/2004.

[Exact same obit was in Sun Times, November 19]
Then, a longer article was published in the Sun Times on Nov. 22.

Chicago Sun-Times
Allan Monroe, actor and college teacher
November 22, 2004
BY GARY WISBY Staff Reporter
If you are a playgoer, an art fancier or even just a television-watching couch potato, you may well have seen tall, ponytailed Allan Monroe or heard his rich baritone.
He starred in many Chicago area community theater productions, modeled for portrait artists, sculptors and art students, and appeared in TV commercials.
Mr. Monroe also was a founding member and longtime instructor at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills.
Private services were Nov. 13, one week after his death in his Lake View home. Family members said he would not have wished them to divulge his age. "You know how actors are," said his wife, Mary Ann.
Mr. Monroe appeared as Salieri in the college's production of "Amadeus" in the late 1980s. Among his many Shakespearean turns was Macduff in Moraine Valley's "Macbeth" in 1986.
"Ten Little Indians," in which he played the villain, set an attendance record for St. Sebastian Players in Chicago during a monthlong run in 1999.
But his wife's personal favorite -- because it was where they met -- was "Tartuffe" in 1997, with Mr. Monroe in the title role at Stage Two in north suburban Highwood. "He didn't drive," she recalled. "I drove him home, romance flourished, and we were married in 1998."
He grew up in upstate New York. After high school, the future anti-war protester joined the Army to earn money for college. After a brief hitch, Mr. Monroe attended the State University of New York at Albany, earning a bachelor's. He taught English briefly in a Chicago high school before enrolling at the University of Chicago, where he received a master's in English and humanities.
Mr. Monroe was on the faculty at Moraine Valley when it opened its doors in 1967, serving five years as president of the teachers union. After retiring in 1992, he launched a new career as actor and model.
Students in art and anatomy classes sketched, painted and sculpted the striking 6-foot-4 Mr. Monroe, and much of their work still is on view at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The family is attempting to buy a large portrait -- "It's as big as my fireplace," his wife said -- of Mr. Monroe as Andrew Jackson.
Its painter and owner is Evanston artist Richard Halstead, who made the official portrait of former Gov. George Ryan and whose painting of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin hangs in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
"He was just a beautiful man, inside and out," Mary Ann Monroe said. "He made a positive impact on every life he ever touched."
Two previous marriages ended in divorce. In addition to his wife, Mr. Monroe is survived by two daughters, Victoria Monroe and Jocelyn Monroe, and