Noyes, David Harry, age 74 of Prior Lake, passed away peacefully with staff by his side at VA Medical Center on Tuesday, February 20th, 2024.
David was born to Harry and Leona Noyes and grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota as the eldest boy of eleven children. From a young age he milked Holstein cows, baled hay, and plowed fields. Despite dropping out of school to help on the farm, he earned his GED and studied meat cutting at Pipestone Vocational.
David joined the army in 1970 and was sent to the Vietnam War as part of the 108th Transportation Corps. He drove cargo vehicles and for generals. It was in Da Nang that he handled the neurotoxin, Agent Orange.
After returning stateside, he worked at Our Own Hardware in Burnsville and lived on Medicine Lake. Every day, warm or cold, he’d fish. It was in nature that he found a certain peace especially while deer and bear hunting.
David was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident in 1973. A helmet saved his life.
David met his wife Corazon Millano through a pen pal service. After fourteen months of letters, David proposed to her over the telephone. She accepted on the condition that they get married in her home country of the Philippines. They did so on September 23rd, 1981.
They had two children, a son and a daughter, and lived in the Webster area in a house atop a hill . Together they built rock terrace flower gardens and planted many trees.
David loved carrying his daughter on his shoulders during adventures. He had an eye for picking stones. He could always be found at his children’s sporting events, a camcorder in hand. On Sundays after church, the grill was always smoking, filling the air with smells of brats and “Philippine barbecue”.
Later he worked as a janitor at Mystic Lake Casino. He eventually obtained his commercial driver’s license and was a bus driver for SouthWest Metro Transit. David relished conversation and exchanging stories. He enjoyed meeting and helping people from all over the world, especially on his Mall of America route.
After retirement he became co-organizer of the Barangay Pepita People’s Learning Center and opened eleven libraries in rural villages in the Philippines. He built birdhouses from scraps, converted vehicles to run off of waste grease, and traveled to anti-war protests. David was also a big fan of Minnesota sports teams. He was often disappointed by the Minnesota Vikings.
He felt a kinship with eagles, wolves, and bears often would lift his head to the sky to point out an eagle or howl. When he itched his back against a tree, he’d let you know that was how bears did it. He loved dogs and would dive his hands deep into their fur and playfully tussle with them. He loved tomatoes, eating them like apples. Once he’d wrestled an alligator.
In 2009 he was diagnosed with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia, yet his good heart showed through the changes. He volunteered at Feed My Starving Children. He collected stamps and ran several clubs with a global reach. He was always deeply thankful to the countless nurses and doctors that shared their lives with him.
With his generosity, gregarious nature, and eardrum shattering sneezes he will forever be missed by his son, Karl; daughter, Princessita (Casey) O’Brien; grandsons, Declan and Calvin O’Brien; brothers; Larry, John, Tom, Bob, Harvey and sisters; Pat, Marge, Marilyn, Sharon and many other relatives and friends.
David is preceded in death by his wife Corazon; mother, Leona Downing; father, Harry Noyes; and sister, Marcie.
A celebration of David’s life will take place on Saturday, April 13th, 2024 at Lakefront Park Pavilion, 5000 Kop Parkway, Prior Lake from 11-4 PM. Lunch will be served.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota at https://wrcmn.org/donate or WRCM, 2530 Dale St. N. Roseville, MN 55113.
