Class of 1953
First Lieutenant Mary Joan Noel, USAF
Most information & photos provided by William J. Noel.
Class of 1953
First Lieutenant Mary Joan Noel, USAF
Most information & photos provided by William J. Noel.
Mary Joan Noel's parents were Ferdinand W. and Lillian (Kiley) Noel.
Mary Joan's aunt was Mary Ruth Noel, Class of 1926, the sister of Ferdinand Noel.
The mother of Mary Joan Noel, Lillian Kiley, was the sister of St. Francis graduates Loretta, Alice, and Kathleen Kiley.
Mary Cecelia Kiley, Class of 1928, was the first cousin of Lillian Kiley Noel. The father of Joetta Kiley, Class of 1960, was James W. Kiley, the brother of Mary Cecelia Kiley, and, therefore, also a first cousin of Lillian Kiley Noel.
The personal pages of the aforementioned relatives provide additional information about Mary Joan's ancestry.
Major Mary Joan Noel
Photo provided by William J. Noel.
Mary Joan Noel served in the U.S. Air Force and attained the rank of Major. Her brother, William J. Noel, also an Air Force major, stated:
"Mary Joan Noel entered the United States Air Force in 1954 after working for a year at the VA Hospital in Butler, PA. Her duty stations included: Sembach AB, Germany; Elemendorf AFB, Alaska; Lackland AFB, TX; Keesler AFB, MS; Shaw AFB, SC and McDill AFB, FL. As a flight nurse she flew missions between McGuire AFB and Rein-Main AB, Germany. She also completed a Southeast Asia tour at Korat AB, Thailand and flew civic action and diplomatic support missions around Central and South America from Howard AB in the Canal Zone. She completed nurse practioner training in OB/GYN at Kansas University in 1973. She was also was one of first nurses to complete both arctic and jungle survival training. She retired from the Air Force in 1975 but continued to work part time both in local hospitals and clinics as well as serve as a reserve deputy sheriff."
Magazine Article About Mary Joan: PAGE 1 - PAGE 2
Source for article & picture: The Airman: Official Magazine of the U.S. Air Force, February 1969; including article on pages 20-23, "No Allowance for Sex" about the participation of Air Force flight nurses, Major Mary J. Noel and Captain Madeleine McCann, both stationed with the 24th USAF Dispensary at Howard Air Force Base, Canal Zone, Panama, in the US Air Forces Southern Command's week-long US Air Force Tropic Survival School.
Father's Obituary
Orlando Sentinel (FL) - December 16, 1986
FERDINAND NOEL, 81, 425 Pinebrook Drive, Media, Pa., died Thursday. Born in Muster, Pa., he moved to Pinebrook, Pa., from Rockledge in 1984. He was a steel inspector and a Catholic. Survivors: sons, Maj. William J., San Antonio, Texas, Richard, Pittsburgh; daughters, Joan, Rockledge, Virginia Thomas, Media; sisters, Catherine, Martha, Gertrude Shumann, all of St. Petersburg; three grandchildren. Visiting hours: noon to 1 p.m. today. Funeral: 1 p.m. today, Florida Memorial Funeral Home, south of Rockledge (FL).
