David Noel ’67
David Martin Noel was called to his Lord on Friday, October 23, 2020. He transitioned over while in Blake Hospital, Bradenton, Florida. He was 75 years of age.
He was born August 15, 1945 in Coldwater, Michigan to Jesse G. and Marvel D. Noel. A 1963 graduate of Coldwater (Michigan) High School, he subsequently attended Hope College, Holland, Michigan, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in History. He continued his education, receiving his Master’s Degree (and working toward a doctorate) from The University of Toledo.
In Toledo, he took on a part-time job with the Toledo-Lucas County Library, where he served out his career for 26 years. He first worked in the Local History Department and then served as manager of the Public Relations Department. Though David was involved in many projects during those years, his proudest accomplishments were the development of the “Authors, Authors!” Lecture Series and the establishment of the Library Legacy Foundation.
Appropriately, David met Adrienne Wilczynski (daughter of Vincent and Henrietta Wilczynski) while at the library. They married in 1976. They set up their household in Toledo, Ohio. In 1977, David and his wife found adventure in camping and canoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. They made trips up there almost annually to enjoy the solitude and peacefulness of the wilderness.
Dave retired from the Library in 2000. During his early retirement years, Dave documented and wrote two books: Information Revolution: The History of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library (1838-2001) and A History of the Toledo, Jewish Community (1895-2006).
In 2013, David and his wife moved to the Perico Bay Club where he continued his writings. He was working on documenting the biographies of the Toledo-Lucas County Library directors and a historical fiction book on the Titanic. David also served as the president of the local condo association and later the Master Association for the Perico Bay Club. David and his wife were members of Little Flower Catholic Church in Toledo, Ohio and St. Bernard’s on Anna Maria Island in Florida.
David and his wife had no children but were the proud parents of a myriad of dogs and cats. David was preceded in death by his father, mother, aunt, Dorothy Mitchel, cousin, Tobin Dean, brother, Wilbur (Bill) Noel and his wife, Phyllis, and nephew, Jim Noel. He is survived by his wife, Adrienne, nephew, Steven (Patty) Noel of Binghamton, New York, cousin, Jane Dean (whom he grew up with and regarded as a sister) of Westland, Michigan and her son, Tim (Nancy) Dean of Cape Coral, Florida.
All of David‘s family and friends knew him to be generous with his time, talents, and resources. He had a way of addressing the most heated discussions by listening and discerning the concerns and developing a calm consensus. With his historical knowledge, he could easily link the past to the present and provide a new perspective of the events of today. Though he had a vast amount of knowledge and could easily beat anyone at a trivia game or Jeopardy, he always made people feel that their message was important and their thoughts and words counted.
David thoroughly loved calling Perico Bay Club (PBC) his home. Nestled on Perico Island and protected by a necklace of mangroves, PBC was a haven of wonderful weather, beautiful landscaping, captivating birds and wildlife and exceptional neighbors and friends. At Perico Bay Club, folks will remember him as the teddy bear who would ride his tricycle around the community daily.
In 2009, David needed a new aortic heart valve. He received that at the Cleveland Clinic. David was relatively healthy until late September 2020, when he went to the hospital and found out he needed a new aortic heart valve. While recuperating there from the operation he contracted COVID-19 and succumbed to its ravages in 10 days.
In memory of David, the family asks that everyone emulate David in his calm and sincere manner. Calmly listen when you are not in agreement with another person. Be respectful of their perspective and listen attentively. Listening was key to his calming nature…so just listen…you may still disagree, but your opponent will know you respect his/her perspective and you respect him/her as a person.