Donald P. Noel, SR 1940-2010

NOEL, VOGEL, RAHE, BOEKE, WIDMYER, MERGES, MILLER, TWOMEY, MAUS, HINGTGEN, POTTS, MCLAUGHLIN, OMEARA, LANDA

Posted By: J. N. (email)
Date: 1/21/2010 at 18:13:01

Telegraph Herald
Dubuque, Iowa
Thursday, January 21, 2010

Donald P. Noel, SR

Donald Paul Noel Sr., 69, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother, of 2665 Mineral St., Dubuque, passed away at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, at home.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at Nativity Catholic Church, 1225 Alta Vista St. Burial will be in Mount Calvary Cemetery. Friends may call from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, at Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Westview Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 2659 Kennedy Road, where there will be a scripture wake service at 7:30 p.m.

Don entered this world on June 10, 1940, seventh of 10 children born to Anthony (Tony) and Ruth (Vogel) Noel. He attended Nativity Grade School, Loras Academy and Loras College.

He served with the Army in Germany from 1959 to 1962, as a medical corpsman.

He married Lois Rahe on May 30, 1966, at St. Francis Xavier Basilica, Dyersville, Iowa. Their 43-year union welcomed three sons, three special daughters-in-law and eight precious grandchildren.

Don climbed many of Dubuque's stairs and hills while working as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service from 1964 until retirement on July 3, 1998.

Don had a lifelong passion for learning and especially loved world and church history. He read frequently and applied this learning to hobbies of gardening, cooking, canning, baking, beekeeping, wine making and small agricultural projects. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others. Visitors to the Noel home usually left with a plant or cuttings, a loaf of homemade bread or a bottle of wine, honey or home-canned goods.

Don was blessed with a "green thumb" and volunteered his time and talent for many years toward the beautification of the Lourdes Grotto at Loras College. He loved taking plants to New Melleray Monastery, then conversing with Brothers Placid and Felix. Rides in the countryside with Lois or his brother Butch were a favorite pastime, often culminating with lunch or supper at a cafe along the route. He also enjoyed fishing with Mickey and Butch on the pontoon, then complaining about all the fish that got away.

Don was a devout Catholic and a lifelong member of Nativity Parish. He was devoted to the Blessed Mother, praying rosaries each day in thanksgiving for his blessings and seeking her intercession for difficulties he and his family faced.

Don endured the peaks and valleys of cancer treatment while maintaining his sense of humor. He was a role model to his sons and their families in showing unwavering faith in God throughout his illness and perseverance in the face of adversity. He was dedicated to the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.

Don was a member of the Nativity Guild and Rosary Society, Dubuque Men's Association, U.S. Postal Branch 257, Dubuque County Right to Life and a charter member of Birthright of Dubuque.

Those honoring Don's memory are his wife, Lois; sons, Don Jr., (Tammy Boeke) and their children, Kaylee, Olivia and Seth, of Wildwood, Mo., Tony (Angie Widmyer) and their children, Colin, Carter, Gabriel and Josephine, of Asbury, Iowa, and Bob (Gina Merges) and their son, Joseph, of Dubuque; siblings, Mary Ann Miller, of Saratoga, Calif., Barbara (John) Twomey, of Vienna, Va., Hope (Ron) Maus, of Grand Prairie, Texas, and Jean (Eugene "Mickey") Hingtgen, Richard (Alma) Noel, Carol "Kay" (Jerry) Potts, Helen (Roger) McLaughlin, Genevieve O'Meara Landa and John "Butch" Noel, all of Dubuque; his in-laws, Mary Kay (Dr. Peter) Matisheck, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, Doris (Dr. Gary) Brown, of Evanston, Ill., Janet (William) Hennekens, of Solon Springs, Wis., Marsha (Dr. Mark) Hauser, of Edgewood, Iowa, Carmen (James) Epstein, of Urbandale, Iowa, Colleen Mormann, of Marion, Iowa, Michelle Rahe, of Dubuque, and John (Nikki) Rahe, Dr. Dewayne (Krystal) Rahe and Keith (Jacque) Rahe, all of Dyersville, Iowa; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Anthony (Tony) and Ruth Noel; in-laws, Gilbert and Florabelle Rahe; brothers-in-law, Don Miller, Don Landa and Jerry O'Meara; and a sister-in-law, Connie (Murphy) Noel.

A Donald P. Noel Sr. Memorial Fund has been established.

Online condolences may be submitted at egelhofsiegertcasper.com.

Don's family is thankful for the compassionate care given by Dr.Mark Hermann, Dr. John Whalen, Dr. Roger Ott Jr., Dr. Krishnarao Gorrepati and their staff, multiple departments of Mercy Health Center, Mayo Clinic, St. Mary's Hospital and Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, Minn. They also ask God's blessing on extended family, friends and colleagues for their prayers and numerous gestures of kindness during Don's illness.