Richard Noyes Obituary

Richard Hall

Noyes

February 12, 1930

December 17, 2021



NOYES

Richard H. Noyes

February 12, 1930- December 17, 2021

Richard Hall Noyes passed away peacefully at home in the loving company of his son Matthew Noyes, on the morning of Friday, December 17. He was ninety-one years old.

Dick was born on February 12, 1930, in Evanston, Illinois to George F. and Dorothy Hall Noyes. He was preceded in death by his wife of over 60 years, Judith Mitchell Noyes, and his brothers George E. and Thomas E. Noyes. He is survived by his sister Nancy Noyes Thayer, his three children, Cate Noyes Boddington, (Tim) Stephanie Noyes Kane and Matthew Noyes (Sakiko), and eight grandchildren.

Dick graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. in 1952 with a BA in Political Science. He was drafted into service with the U.S. Army in the Korean War and served his tour of duty in Japan on the staff of the Army Forces Far East Intelligence School. His fiancée Judith Mitchell joined him in Tokyo, where they were wed in 1953.

In 1954 Dick was accepted to Rand McNally Publishing's Executive Training Program, in Evanston, Il, for a year and then was assigned to the Education Division with a salesman position based in Denver covering the territory of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. Dick soon became top salesman, logging nearly 100,000 miles by car a year.

Dick and Judy moved from Denver to Colorado Springs where in 1959 they opened The Chinook Bookshop at 210 North Tejon Street.

After 45 years, by the time of the Noyes' 2004 retirement and closure of the store, the Chinook Bookshop had become iconic in the world of book distribution as a general, all subject area, full service independent personal bookstore.

Dick and Judy took grateful pride in their staff of professional booksellers, who numbered as many as thirty, for their longevity of service, dedication, competence and deep friendship.

Dick was very involved in civic issues nationally as well as locally. Dick served on many local boards including the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, the City Charter Review Commission Board, the Fountain Valley School, and was the founding board member of Citizen's Goals.

He received numerous awards including the Intellectual Freedom Award for his defense of First Amendment Rights and his opposition to censorship from the Mountains Plains Library Association in 1977 and, in 1980, the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Colorado Regents. He was co-founder of the Colorado Media Coalition and was one of two booksellers appointed in 1977 to the board of the Center of the Library of Congress to stimulate reading throughout the United States. He was presented the Recognition Award from the Pikes Peak Arts Council in 1989 and, in 2004, he served on the Advisory Committee of the College of Arts, Letters and Sciences at UCCS. He was a member of the faculty at the Publishing Institute of Denver University. A high point in his career was his two terms as president of the American Booksellers Association (ABA) in the mid 1970's— the youngest and the first president from the Rocky Mountain West.

Besides reading, Dick's passions were wood and wire sculpture, raising pheasants and he was an accomplished gardener, with his prized gardens featured in several books and articles.

The family owes so much to Dick's dedicated caregiver Christel Garner whose husband Greg and brother-in-law Larry worked at Chinook.

Burial will be private.

Those wishing to make a gift in lieu of flowers may contribute to the Pikes Peak Library District Foundation, The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center of Colorado College or to Downtown Ventures, for Art on the Streets.