Juana Noble Obituary

Noble
Juana Nadine
(Davis) Noble
November 22, 1930
December 9, 2022

Juana Nadine (Davis) Noble passed away peacefully in her sleep during the night of December 9, 2022, at the age of 92 years. She always said that her greatest joy was to help other people and she did just that for six generations of her family and uncounted friends.
She was born in Rolla, Kansas on November 22, 1930, to Samuel Marvin Davis and Oleta Gay Worthington Davis (Janoski). She grew up in the 1930's depression years and remembered the dust bowl years in southwestern Kansas. She moved westward with her family and her sister, Rita, following economic opportunities, and after several intermediate moves, arrived in Colorado Springs, CO in the late 1930's. She was married in 1946 to Loran Hubert Noble in Colorado Springs, CO. After marrying, she lived for a short time in Los Angeles, CA, where her eldest son Mark H Noble was born in 1947. After moving back to Colorado her children Alan C Noble, Rebecca (Becky) N Noble, and Rene B Noble were born in Colorado Springs.
The family moved to a small farm just east of Fountain, CO in 1952, where she raised her four children and was active in the community as room mother in schools, President of the PTA, and as a leader in the Home Extension Club (for farm wives). She also took an active role in working the farm, irrigating, and the picking and marketing of vegetables such as peas, squash, green beans, cucumbers, and sweet corn. She also had the unenviable job of keeping the kids on task for their work on the farm, a job a bit like herding cats. When the children left the house in the mid-1960s, the farm was converted to production of alfalfa hay, and she took a primary role in irrigating the hay with the hired help of many of the children of friends, neighbors, and family. During this time, she was also the primary caretaker for her Grandmother Ora Ella Figart (Worthington) Hanthorn. She also loved to care for her grandchildren Kirk, Craig, and Cory Noble, the sons of Mark and Carla Noble. Her grandchildren by Alan and Ginny Noble were living out of state, but Juana was always the first to arrive and help when a new grandchild was born. She also lived with Alan and Ginny and the grandkids, Mark, Scott, and Kathryn, for several months in 1977, when she and her husband, now Grandpa Noble, helped to expand and to renovate Alan and Ginny's little house that they bought from the mining company in Miami, AZ.
Juana and Loran sold the farm in 1980 and moved to a house in Colorado Springs that was very close to her daughter and son-in-law Becky and Paul Zenthoefer. Thus, began a third phase of her life during which she provided childcare and grandmothering for Becky's and Paul's children Matthew and Tyler Zenthoefer and often some of the neighborhood kids. By this time most of the neighborhood called her grandma and loved her as such. As Becky's children aged out of childcare needs, Juana assumed the great-grandmother and helped care for Kirk's children Aubrey and Alex Noble. She was also the primary caretaker for her mother Oleta Janoski. During these years Juana and Loran purchased a series of RVs starting from the "hippy wagon" and progressing to the "MoHome", traveled the country, and visited all the National Parks then existing, often with Oleta accompanying them. Juana also developed an avid interest in genealogy and became an expert genealogist.
Her husband Loran died in 2002 after which she became the uniting force for the entire extended family. Every year, she hosted a family picnic during the summer to which all family and family friends were invited. In addition, she hosted iconic Thanksgiving dinners at which her entire dining and living room were packed with tables, people, and food. She loved everyone and everyone loved her. She will be missed by many.
Juana is survived by her children Mark Noble, Alan Noble (Ginny), Rebecca Zenthoefer (Paul), Rene Noble (Lynn), 8 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 7, 2023, at the First Baptist Church of Colorado Springs, 317 E Kiowa St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.