December 21, 1932 - September 16, 2019 In accordance with Jeri’s wishes, there will be no service and cremation will take place. Special thanks to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan and to all of the people who have given of themselves to assist with Jeri’s care. There are simply too many to list. Our family is eternally grateful. In lieu of flowers Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of Southwest, Michigan, c/o the funeral home |
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Age 86, passed away at home on Monday morning, September 16, 2019. On December 21, 1932, a bright, witty and incredibly talented angel was born to parents Ralph and Pauline Taylor of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Geraldine Leah Taylor grew up to graduate from Kalamazoo Central High School, and on February 13, 1959, married Richard “Dick” Noble. They soon moved to Richland, Michigan, where they raised their family and made many great friends. As a young woman, she honed her office skills and was a valued employee of a group of CPA’s in Kalamazoo. She later went on to work at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, illustrating, editing and typing a manuscript for ornithologist Ray Adams. It was a project she was extremely proud to be a part of. Upon completion of the book, she left the Nature Center and soon took over as the office manager for family friends, the Rorick brothers, at their downtown Kalamazoo auto body shop. Her number one priority however, was always loving wife and mother. Jeri, as she was known to her friends and family, and had a passion for art, nature and color, and this manifested itself in beautiful hand-painted Christmas ornaments and the amazing flower gardens that she tended at her beloved Government Lake home in Baldwin, Michigan, where she and Dick retreated to in their well-deserved retirement years. Winters were spent in Mexico Beach, Florida, where she enjoyed painting, the beach and her good friends at the VFW. Jeri’s number one love was her family, and she used her own passion for learning, her creativity and above all, her patience, to be a mother that any kid would be blessed to have. Her talents shone through the creation of costumes for school plays and Halloween, last minute baked goods for class parties and unwavering support for her husband and children in their own personal endeavors. She created holiday meals that were fit for a magazine cover and her table always had room for stragglers. Many extended family and friends would come to enjoy a Sunday fried chicken dinner or Thanksgiving turkey with all the homemade trimmings. She strived to ensure her kids had a little start where school was concerned, making flashcards to teach spelling and multiplication tables, teaching reading and grammar skills and insisting they refer to the World Book Encyclopedia and “Look it up” before she would offer an answer to the question of how something worked. Music was also a big part of Jeri’s life, and she played piano by ear, loving to sing, strummed a tenor banjo and was known far and wide for her very enthusiastic rendition of Kaw-Li-Ga. Many summer nights were spent around bonfires and campgrounds, Northern Michigan cabins and festivals, hog roasts and fish fries with live music and good friends and she cherished and those times and those people. She loved to laugh, and her quick wit, snappy puns and one-liners were also a huge part of what made her such a special lady. Jeri is survived by her husband of sixty years, a daughters Paula Watson of Sanford, Florida, her son Todd Noble of Bigfork, Montana and daughter Julie Noble of Richland, as well as granddaughters, Traci, Kelli, Sarah and Caitlin and her eight great-grandchildren. Her brother Ralph Taylor and sister Judy Gauna, as well as several nieces and nephews also survive. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Jay Taylor, sister Jackie Holroyd, nieces Teri Holroyd and grandson Tyler Swanson. |