But he never made it.
As he was getting ready to head over to the club, he collapsed, said Noonan’s daughter, Pieper Bonert. She recalled the phone call from her stepmother. She was planning to take him to the tournament, but instead, she raced over to his house before she planned, and then she and her stepmother went to the hospital.
“He was showered and ready for me to pick him up, and he just collapsed,” she said of what turned out to be a heart attack. “It was the craziest thing.”
It was crazy because outside of recovering from back surgery, which Noonan had told more than one person he was feeling great following the procedure, the 84-year-old was in pretty good shape. Young said he was anxious to get back out on the golf course again post-surgery.
Gale Noonan wasn’t just your average Fairfield resident or Optimist Club member. He was the heart and soul of the club. Member Rod Mills said his death was “a big loss for the Fairfield Optimist Club because he did a ton.”
And it wasn’t just projects or fundraisers. Mills said it could be an average Tuesday and he’d be in the back of the club with the grill torn apart cleaning it.
“He was just a super, super good man,” Young said. “He would do anything for anybody and he didn’t know a stranger. Just such a nice and even-keeled guy.”
That wasn’t just at the club, Bonert said of her dad, saying “he was the most generous, loving, giving person you could ever meet. He was just so giving and so generous.”
The Fairfield Optimist Club this year, and every year forward, will show how much Noonan meant to them as they reboot their cornhole tournament, which is a major fundraiser for many of the club’s charitable contributions around the city.
This Saturday at noon (registration starts at 10:30 a.m.), bags will fly at the club’s inaugural Gale Noonan Memorial Cornhole Tournament at 194 Joe Nuxhall Way. There will be a blind draw and it’s $25 per person. The top three places will be awarded prize money.
Noonan would not have wanted this recognition. He was happy just being part of the crowd, though he might have been the loudest one cheering on his grandson. Cole ended up coming in second place in last year’s tournament and he had no idea what happened to his grandfather until after the tournament.
Bonert eventually made her way to the tournament, arriving in time to see her son finish second.
The weather exemplified the day, it was rainy and gloomy, but then a pair of rainbows appeared, side by side. There’s a belief that a double rainbow is a symbol of spiritual growth, connecting the material and spiritual worlds. It was for Bonert.
This weekend will be difficult for Bonert and her family, and Noonan’s Fairfield Optimist Club family. It’s a safe bet that another double rainbow won’t appear in the expected sunny skies of Aug. 5. But it’s also a safe bet that Cole will be the hands-on favorite to win.
At least I wouldn’t bet against him.
Inaugural Gale Noonan Memorial Cornhole Tournament
When: Saturday, Aug. 5; registration at 10:30 a.m., play starts at noon
Where: Fairfield Optimist Club, 194 Joe Nuxhall Way
Cost: $25 per person
Additional Info: Blind draw and prize money goes to the top three places
About the Author
