John NOBLE

December 1, 1938 - January 15, 2024

John William Noble, a local artist and long-time resident of Spokane, passed away at his home on January 15, 2024, at the age of 85, after a long battle with metastatic prostate cancer. He was surrounded by his family and his beloved dogs, Wookie and Brother.

John is survived by his wife of 45 years, Susan, and his children Rebecca Noble, Deborah Thoreson, Yolanda Herr, and Diana Noble. He also had eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. Sadly, he was predeceased by his parents, Richard Noble and Ruth (Papke) Noble, as well as his two younger sisters, Judy Noble and Bonnie (Noble) Staehle.

John was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on December 1, 1938. He graduated from Sherwood High School and studied fine arts at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He later earned an art scholarship at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, where he began a master's program in printmaking. Throughout his life, John had various careers, including factory worker, bartender/bar manager, owner of a residential painting business, and owner of two art galleries - Mad Kat Gallery in the Flour Mill in the '70s and Good Works Gallery from 2003-2008.

John was an avid reader and collected books of all kinds, especially children's books. However, his true passion was always his art. He enjoyed drawing surreal animals, all with humor and personality. John was a great storyteller. He was a great talker and was known to pontificate on many subjects, including stories of his life or from a book he had recently read.

John was a mentor, a big brother, a best friend, an art teacher to many young children, and a good drinking buddy. He was a cool hippie artist from San Francisco by way of Milwaukee. He was an "everything in its place" kind of guy. Oh, so true! John will be missed by many but not forgotten.

A life celebration party will be held at the Noble home on Saturday, March 23, 2024, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Donations can be made to the John Noble Memorial Scholarship Fund established at the Spokane Art School in lieu of flowers. Please contact the Spokane Art School at 509.325.1500 for further information.