Wayne Elvin Noelle

NOELLE, Wayne Elvin After a year-long battle with cancer, Wayne Noelle elected to spend his last days at home under hospice care with his family. He passed away on August 10th at age 81. Wayne was born on February 1, 1931 in Chicago to Fred and Hermine (Schmidt) Noelle. He was a member of the "Silent Generation", defined by the upheaval of the Depression and the challenges of the Second World War. Although his father worked for the US Postal Service during most of his life, financial problems and the circumstances of the times forced his family to move frequently, hindering Wayne from establishing long term friendships prior to his teenage years. After an attempt at farming in Arkansas, his family returned to the Chicago area where his mother died suddenly in 1941. His sister, Shirley, took on the responsibilities of the household, with the help of Fred Jr. and Wayne, while their father worked nights. In 1945, the family finally settled in Bellwood, Illinois where Wayne attended high school and made friendships that would last a lifetime. He and the "Shotgun Valley Gang" played football, basketball, and baseball, hunted rabbits, fished, and gathered at the Zitos or the Hilkos to play Pinochle, Poker, or watch amateur boxing on a marvelous device called "the television". After graduating from high school, Wayne got a job with International Harvester but, as the Korean War escalated, he joined the Coast Guard. He was trained as an ETSN (Seaman, Electronics Technician Striker) and served on LORAN stations in French Frigate Shoals and in Miho Bay, Japan. He ended his Coast Guard career as an ET1 (First Class Electronics Technician) serving on the Cutter Mackinaw in Lake Huron in 1953. Returning to the Chicago area, he worked for Illinois Bell Telephone before making the momentous decision to move to Milwaukee to join AC Spark Plug, a division of General Motors, in 1958. It was in Milwaukee that Wayne met his wife, Carol Ann Koerner. They enjoyed bowling, socializing, and playing Sheepshead with their friends, often until the early hours of the morning. They married on July 18, 1964 and had three sons. For 12 years, Wayne worked days and attended college at night. In 1967, he graduated from Marquette University summa cum laude with a bachelor?s degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of both engineering honor societies Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pai. These academic accomplishments launched his career as a Systems Engineer at AC-Delco. In 1973, Wayne and his family joined hundreds of other AC-Delco families in a division-wide transfer to Goleta, California. Wayne was pleased with the move and the temperate climate of the Central Coast. He greatly enjoyed his work and his coworkers, but also found time to bowl, golf, and enrich the lives of his wife and children. After 34 years of service to General Motors, Wayne retired in 1992 and began spending time with his loving wife at their new summer lake home in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. The next 15 years were truly golden for them as they traveled back and forth from the West Coast to the Great Lakes, savoring summers fishing and renewing ties with old friends and relishing winters playing golf and volunteering their talents. Wayne often commented that he rose from humble beginnings to live a prosperous and satisfying life. He was proud of his family and took his roles as husband, father, and provider very seriously. He was the archetypical American family man: steady, quiet, rational, independent, modest, true to his values, and true to his family. While modern society often evokes this image in a manner that is contrived and cliché, Wayne made this ideal a reality, living a life that was truly inspiring. Wayne is survived by his wife, Carol Ann, his three sons and their wives, David and Jeanne of Merced, Alan and Tamika of Ventura, and Roger and Susan of Fair Oaks, as well as his three grandsons, Sean, Aaron, and Jacob. In celebration of his life, a memorial service will be held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 380 North Fairview Avenue in Goleta on Monday, August 20th, at 2 pm with a reception to follow. While flowers may be sent to the church to enrich the service, Wayne?s family would prefer that donations be given in his honor to Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara, the Foundation for Girsh Park, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, or the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation. A second memorial service is being planned for July 2013 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Minocqua, Wisconsin.

Wayne Elvin Noelle

February 1, 1931 - August 10, 2012