Services set for Judge "Red" Noonan

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Hon. Lionel Winston “Red” Noonan – age 86, born in Mobile on June 6, 1925, one time resident of New Orleans, LA, longtime resident of Mobile and current resident of Fairhope passed away on December 29, 2011 in Potomac Falls, VA.

A natural athlete, Judge Noonan was trained in tumbling at an early age and participated in an AAU tumbling competition at the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair. He attended Murphy High School where, as a star football player, he was named to the All-City Team and was eventually named to the school’s Hall of Fame.

Following his graduation in 1942, Judge Noonan joined the United States Navy, serving during World War II. Upon returning home, he enrolled at the University of Alabama where he returned to football as the team’s starting fullback for four seasons and, as a senior, was selected to play in the North-South Shrine Game and was named co-captain.

Earning his Bachelor’s Degree in 1950, Judge Noonan entered the University of Alabama School of Law and graduated with an L.L.D. in 1953. During that time, he served as the University’s freshman football coach. He went on to earn a Master’s of Arts in Economics from the University in 1959.

Judge Noonan worked for Merchant’s National Bank from 1953 until 1980, where he was a Vice President and Trust Officer. He also served as an Alabama State Senator for the 24th District from1971-1978 serving on the Legislature’s Joint Committee to study the Tax Structure of the State of Alabama and the Distribution of Tax Revenues and was very involved in the Ameriport project, a proposed deep water oil mono buoy system which would have been built in the Mississippi/Alabama Gulf Coast area. In 1983, he was elected Judge of Probate in Mobile County and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2001.

During his career, Judge Noonan served as a member of the Southern Growth Policies Board, President of the University of Alabama “A” Club, member of the Mobile Chapter of the Red Elephant Club, President of the Trust Division of the Alabama Bankers Association (1967-69), member of the University of Alabama Farrah Law Society, President of the Estate Planning Council of Mobile (1970-71), President of the Alabama Probate Judge’s Association (1995-96), member of the Mobile Bar Association (1953-2003), member of the Board of Directors of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, member of the Mobile Racing Commission (1980), Chairman of the Olympic Torch Relay Mid-Gulf Coast Region (2002), member of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority (1974), and a member of the Archdiocese of Mobile Catholic Housing Board (2005-11).

He was also instrumental in the creation of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and the construction of the Theodore Industrial Canal and the Alabama State Docks Bulk Material Handling Plant. Judge Noonan received many honors including the George Washington Award by the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge.

He was named to the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Judge Noonan was preceded in death by his parents, John J. and Oriel Mitchell Noonan; cousin, Dorothy Oberkirch; and uncle and aunt, Fintan and Nathalie Mitchell. H is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Ruby Shirley Noonan of Fairhope; children, Ruth Noonan Rutkowski (Edward) of Daphne, Dr. Lionel W. “Rusty” Noonan, Jr. (Andrea) of Montrose, and Kelly Noonan Marrocco (Michael) of Potomac Falls, VA; grandchildren, Leslie Rutkowski, Vincent Marrocco, and Morgan Marrocco; other relatives and friends.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile on Thursday, January 5, 2012, at 10 a.m. The family will receive friends at Radney Funeral Home on Dauphin Street on Wednesday, January 4, from 5-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Catholic Charities Appeal of Mobile, P.O. Box 230, Mobile, AL 36601 or the American Heart Association, 900 Western America Cir., Mobile, AL 36609.

Condolences may be offered at www.radneyfuneralhome-mobile.com .