James M. Noel

James "Jim" Noel, 75, of Waynesboro, PA, a proud veteran of the US Air Force, passed away on April 21, 2024.
The son of Frank and Louise Noel, Spokane, WA, Jim took an early interest in cartography and showed an aptitude in signal and satellite work while serving in the Air Force. Once retired from the Air Force as a Master Sergeant, Jim had a second career in government contracting for another 25 years at Raytheon Corp in the metro Washington, D.C. area.
Jim is survived by his wife, Lillie; his daughters, Virginia, and Beverly; his son, Lee; and his sisters, Barbara Connerley and Pat Furher.
Jim enjoyed fishing and was skilled at hunting (snakes were much more afraid of him than he was of them!) He learned carpentry skills from his father at an early age and used those skills in his later years to renovate several rooms in the family home. Jim also enjoyed golf as a young man with his father in Spokane. He brought a spirit of joyful competitiveness to any game of Uno and was unmatched in his ability to assist with the annual holiday tradition of making buckeyes.
Growing up in Spokane, WA was a bit of a sports drought for Jim as a young man, so he did the only thing a normal guy would do and followed the late great Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts. Once the NFL expanded the league and the Seattle Seahawks landed, Jim claimed them as his team and he and his son cheered on the Seahawks for years together.
Jim didn't suffer fools lightly; you always knew exactly where you stood with him. He was quiet most of the time, until he had a few rounds of gin and tonics in him-then he was the emcee of the party!
He will probably complain that someone made him do something he didn't really feel like doing, or fixing something he didn't break-like the time 20 pounds of freshly peeled potato skins got shoved down the sink drain BEFORE anyone bothered to check to see if that drain had a Dispos-all unit. In an Airbnb rental. Over a holiday weekend. Far away from home, where the tools are still residing in the garage lovingly referred to as "Santa's workshop".
For as grumpy as Jim could be, he loved Christmas. Now, maybe this was inevitable; his father was born on Christmas Day. Or, maybe it was Jim's true nature-and it came out once a year for everyone to enjoy. He loved decorating the house with his wife (oftentimes in the wee hours of the morning-because if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing!) He loved turning the back and front yards into a winter wonderland full of beautiful twinkling white lights that always looked so pretty underneath the snowfall. He enjoyed wrapping presents, and always played Santa on Christmas Eve when we did our gift exchange, complete with Jim's signature hot Dr. Pepper with sliced lemon drink.
Services and inurnment will be held privately with the family.
The family requests the omission of flowers, and asks that memorial donations be made to the Department of Veteran Affairs, https://www.cdceportal.va.gov/donate_online