Steve Noyes
Beltsville, MD
Wish I could be there for our 45th! Great idea
about publishing current bios of our classmates. I often wonder what
friends are doing.
Greetings to Class of
61
Wow! Our 45th...
I've been living in Maryland since 1970, arriving here after last
living and working in Keene, NH.
After leaving SHS, I served four years
(1964-1968) in the US Air Force (Security Service), being stationed in
Monterey, California (Defense Language Institute studying Arabic); San
Angelo, Texas (more training) and Athens, Greece (1 ½ years).
Returned briefly to Claremont, Bellows Falls VT and finally Keene,
working for IGA for a couple of years.
In 1970, I accepted an offer to work at the
National Security Agency at Fort George G Meade in Laurel MD and worked
there as a Middle East Intelligence Analyst for 25 years, retiring as a
GS-13 in 1995.
In 1992, I began volunteering at the Patuxent
Research Refuge in Laurel MD. Eventually, following retirement, I
became a volunteer naturalist, specializing in birds. Over the years,
I've taken many photographs (took a 6-month photography course in
1962-63) for the refuge and am involved in maintaining their photo data
base. I am also an interpreter on their seasonal guided tram tours
through parts of the refuge. In April 2003, I received the Presidential
Volunteer Service Award (with 10 other Dept of Interior
volunteers)which was presented by Secy of Interior Gale Norton in her
office in Washington DC. At that time I had just reached 10,000 hours
of service. So, as you can see,my retirement years have been busy.
For relaxation,I rent a beach house year
around in Dewey Beach DE along with some friends. I manage to go over
there (3 hour drive) at least once a month. I have taken many ski trips
to the western US and Canada and bird trips to Alaska,south Texas, and,
most recently, to Nova Scotia. Photography is my main
passion. If you're interested in some of my
handiwork, I subscribe to a web gallery and post pictures
periodically...http://www.pbase.com/photoops2
I still return to Claremont periodically to
visit my dad and step-mother. Unfortunately, other commitments have
usually prevented my attending Alumni Day activities. I did manage to
get home one time which coincided with Alumni Day (I think it was our
40th) and rode our float. First time I had seen some classmates(Bob T.,
Ronnie B., Betty B., Virginia N., and others) since graduation. What
fun!
Hope everyone and their families are well and would love to here from
old high school friends.
Oh, yes, I have remained single...got too set in my ways!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Added this update on Nov. 2, 2014, below:]
I married my wife Jody in 2010; it
only took me 45 years to take the plunge (lol). We had met as
volunteers at the Patuxent Research Refuge a couple of years earlier.
We enjoy traveling about throughout the mid-Atlantic states and
currently reside in Laurel, MD with two small dogs, Pepper and Lacy. We
love to stay 2-3 days at a time at B&Bs.
In 2009, I survived colorectal cancer and have been cancer free for 5
years. Following my recovery from cancer, I had atrial fibrillation
while undergoing a follow-up check up. While being treated for the
a-fib, I had adverse reaction to a drug which led to being hospitalized
for almost 3 months with encephalopathy (traumatic brain injury). This
caused severe hearing loss (right ear) and has affected my memory and
cognitive reasoning. Three weeks of therapy allowed me to recover much
of my cognitive reasoning. The end result means I sometimes have the
same symptoms as early Alzheimer's. Otherwise, I'm pretty healthy and
just take it one day at a time. My a-fibs have been kept on check.
My wife and I are very active in the United Methodist Church in Laurel
MD.