Obituary of James Norman Noble

NOBLE, JAMES NORMAN “Drink wine. This is life eternal. This is all that youth will give you. It is the season for wine, roses and drunken friends. Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” ― Omar Khayyam Jim passed away peacefully in Chatham on April 1st, 2014, at the age of 81. Born in London Ontario, May 13, 1932. Predeceased only a month ago by his Beloved wife Carole. Father of Kim Noble (Neil Den Tandt) and Thames Lee McGinley. Wise and loving Grandpa of Kaeleigh, Alleigh, Rowyn and Ryleigh, Grand Dogs Klondy and Tukker. Predeceased by parents John and Ida (Quait) of London Ontario, brothers John and Mackenzie Noble. Survived by his sister Molly (Conkey), and her children, and Sister-in-law Arlene Fraser. Jim’s qualities are embodied in his name. He was an unusual man, at once normal, and simultaneously extraordinary. In his quieter moments he was uniquely thoughtful and creative. When challenged, he left no adventure unexplored. He specialized delightfully in important areas…as husband, father, grandfather and friend to many. In stark contrast to the quiet manner of his passing, Jim lived life to the fullest and tested it at the barriers with uncommon zest. As a teenager he first showed an inclination to try and test every conveyance that could take him from point A to point B on land, water, ice and in the air: he acquired an Indian motorcycle, soon to be replaced by a US army-surplus Harley-Davidson. Life would never be boring again. Upon graduating from high school he took a summer course at teachers’ college and was soon teaching all eight grades in a one-room elementary school. After moving to teach in Chatham, he acquired a BA degree through night and summer courses. Also around that time, he went to England on a teacher exchange and fell in love with the country that he would visit again several times over the course of his life. While in England, Jim got his first taste of flying in a Tiger Moth and liked it enough to get a pilot’s licence. Back in Chatham, he was not content to always stay inside his ” heavier-than-air flying machines,” and began jumping out of them with military-surplus parachutes. As with so many things Jim did, he looked for competition. He soon earned a berth on the Canadian National Parachute team which won a gold medal in accuracy at the World Championship in 1962, setting a world record in the process. That hobby also took him to New Zealand, the slow way by freighter. He spent the better part of a year there flying, sky-diving and moving bales of wool around storage sheds to make ends meet. Upon returning, he became a geography teacher at Tecumseh Secondary School, and met and married Carole, whom he would love and cherish for the rest of his life. The couple soon welcomed daughters Kim and Thames. Jim would go on to become vice-principal and later principal at Tecumseh Secondary School. He ran the school with a masterful and gentle hand, beloved by students and staff alike. Weekends were often spent hauling up air cadets in their gliders, doing aerobatic flying, or silently gliding for hours along the thermal front in the company of hawks. Summers were usually spent at the cottage on Sugar Lake, near Parry Sound. His daughters have very fond memories of long summers at the cottage including the many ‘adventure days’ when Jim led them on long excursions by canoe into nearby lakes, or on bicycle or motorcycle along the Seguin Trail. Canoeing, windsurfing and sailing became standard fare for the family and visiting friends alike. It was a magical place, where guests could relax and participate in some of the zaniest celebrations that Jim, and only Jim could dream up. The Sugar Lake ‘Regatta’, held annually through most of the 70’s and 80’s, brought together many cottagers and their children for sailing, canoe, and swimming races. With tongue-in-cheek, Jim also organized visits to Sugar Lake by famous, but fake, personalities in full regalia with all the pomp and circumstance required for such occasions…the ‘Queen Mother’ visited twice, but ‘Conrad Black’ was only invited once. A family coat-of-arms was invented (“Noblesse Oblique”), and Jim appointed himself “Commodore-for-life” of the Sugar Lake Yacht Club. No-one objected. With so much fun to be had, work to be done came in last: a rock encroaching on the driveway to the detriment of several visiting cars had a large bright sunflower painted on it… rather than being removed. And for the most part, the cottage structure was left to maintain itself. Back in Chatham Jim moved on to become principal of John McGregor Secondary School, where he remained until retiring in 1987. Retirement was kind to him: lots of travel, old-timer hockey, skiing at Blue Mountain, bird-watching, cycling, walking their dog Gin-Gin, skiing on the frozen river behind the house, doing masterful photographic work in his darkroom, and flying his airplane. Not all worked out perfectly: hang-gliding turned out to be too dangerous, the ultra light aircraft which Jim built and flew gave him some very scary moments, and an ice-windsurfer turned out to be too fast to be safe. But Jim thoroughly enjoyed trying all these things…The mishaps added colour to the adventure. For a man as bright, imaginative, wise and accomplished to be struck by Alzheimer’s seemed like a cruel joke, but he kept his sense of humour, remained in good spirits, and loved hearing Tennyson’s “Ulysses ” or “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ” read to him when he could no longer read these himself as the disease progressively stole him from us. It didn’t seem fair to have such a strong body and a failing brain. But Jim’s life was a wonderful one, and he would be the first to agree. We will remain forever grateful to Jim for his compassion, encouragement and continuous inspiration. We knew no-one like him,..He was our captain, our guide in life, our joy. A Celebration of the Lives of Jim and Carole Noble, will be held in Chatham on May 24th, 3:30pm at the John D. Bradley Convention Centre, Room 1A.