Pierre Noyes

H. Pierre Noyes & Mary (Wilson) Noyes

We mourn the passing of our beloved mother and father, Mary and Pierre Noyes, joined again after six weeks of separation. Henry Pierre Noyes was born December 10, 1923, in Paris, France to parents William Albert Noyes and Katharine Howarth Macy Noyes. Mary Wilson was born August 13, 1925 in Berkeley, California to Clarence John Ramsay Wilson and Mildred Guinn Wilson.
Mary and Pierre met at a Valentine's Day dance in Berkeley in 1947 and married December 20th of that year. For over 68 years they lived in love and passed away within six weeks of each other, Pierre on September 30; Mary on November 15, 2016. They are survived by their children; David, Alan and Katia Noyes; grandchildren Brian Noyes and Beth Goder; and great-grandchildren Lucy and Emma Goder.
Pierre graduated Harvard in 1943 with a degree in physics. After a stint in the US Navy, where he worked on radar technology, including a better design for naval radar antennae, he continued his postgraduate work, culminating in a Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. Over the years his work was focused on high-energy subatomic particle interactions, especially the three-body problem. In later years he became more interested in multidisciplinary approaches to understanding the universe and with John Amson, Ted Bastin, Clive W. Kilmister and A. Fredrick Parker-Rhodes founded the Alternative Natural Philosophy Association (ANPA), and was president of that organization until 1987. A lifelong enthusiast for the scientific and philosophical understanding of the world, he was always delighted to explain his theories. He had the rare combination of a scientific mind with a sympathetic heart, and will be dearly missed by associates, students and colleagues, as well as many others who came to know him.
Mary attended Stanford University, as had her father, and began a teaching career after graduation, a vocation she continued as her children matured, which led her to teach remedial reading, then obtain a MA in Art History, a LMFCC, and to establish a therapy practice in their home at Stanford. She specialized in using Sandplay Therapy with abused and otherwise traumatized children and adults. She enjoyed bird-watching, reading and writing poetry, walking in the Stanford hills and was a strong supporter of civil rights for all. She will be remembered for her quiet, gentle and perceptive understanding and her enduring love for Pierre and her children.
A memorial reception is planned for January 27 from 4:30 to 7:30 PM at the Stanford Faculty Club, all are invited to attend. Please RSVP to David Noyes 707-935-7741 dgnoyes@sbcglobal.net In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Alzheimer's Association.