When Noelle was alive a firefighter friend gave her her own helmet, one of his old ones that he designed with her name and other stickers and gave to her.  She cherished this gift and was very popular when she took it to "Show and Tell" at school.  See photos of Noelle's helmet in the Photo page!

There was always a special bond that Noelle felt with her boyfriends, the Salem firefighters.  Their acceptance and respect for her made her feel so special when she was with them.  We were there as a family when the first Trans-NH Bike ride arrived in Salem and we attended all subsequent rides in the many years thereafter.  Noelle and her mother always tried to bake cookies and pop popcorn for snacks during the bus trip up north to begin the ride.  On a couple of those years they chose Noelle as their honoree for the ride.  There love for Noelle was striking to us and the community during her funeral.  A fire-truck escort waited outside the church along with too many of her boyfriends is dress uniform serving as honor guard.  One had the courage to speak after the service and could barely finish his words.  As the truck escort passed by the Central Fire Station our family totally lost our composure when a line of dress uniformed firefighters in front of the station waited for Noelle's funeral procession to pass by.  With their flag at half-mast and a sign stating; "Good-bye Noelle, we'll miss you!", they snapped to attention and saluted as the procession passed.  I cannot keep my eyes dry even as I write this, this memory is burned forever into my memory.  They kept the truck and honor guard at the cemetery as long as they possibly could before departing.  I am forever in their debt for this memory.

The best memories that I hold dear are the moments we were able to spend together and forget everything around us for a while.  Noelle inherited her mother's LOVE of reading and she loved being read to as well as absorbing books on her own.  One special book that holds a special memory is the Stinky Cheese Man.  I would read this book to Noelle and cherish Noelle's uncontrollable giggles as I read it to the max.  As much as she endured in her life she and we always could find time to laugh and enjoy humorous moments.  Noelle had a GREAT sense of humor.  She loved to watch and giggle at the antics of the Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello movies with me, much to the pretended dismay of her mother.

We also looked forward to spending time watching television, though probably not what other children her age watched or were interested in.  Noelle enjoyed watching drag racing, rodeo bull riding, and some other unusual sports.  She REALLY enjoyed watching, in person, motorcycle drag racing that Manchester Harley-Davidson hosted during Laconia Bike Week over many years.  That was another group of people that adopted Noelle.  We were introduced to our Harley friends when Noelle was MDA Poster Child for a couple of years.  We traveled throughout the state representing MDA at all manner of functions but we all really loved doing things with our new motorcycle friends.  The folks at Manchester Harley-Davidson became our second family only to the firefighters.  What is it about a little girl that just melts the hearts of big burly bikers and firefighters?  They understood the struggle she had every day and they were committed to helping her get through that struggle.

Noelle passed away in Florida on the second to last day of a "wish trip".  We had to fly back without her while paperwork was processed to bring her body home.  When we arrived in Manchester airport we first drove to Manchester Harley to give our friends there the news before they read it in the papers or saw it on the TV news.  The owner, Albie, was moving his residence that day and was not there.  But the general manager, Bobby, was there.  He knew something was wrong as soon as we walked through the door without Noelle.  Bobby, Kathy and I, stood in the middle of the showroom floor balling our eyes out when we broke the news to him.  He called Albie on his cell phone and he couldn't hold back his tears either.  It struck me that we were standing in the middle of a Harley-Davidson showroom floor, balling our eyes out, and every employee and customer present at that moment, gave us and Bobby, the time we needed to support each other.  Time, and business, stood still for as long as we needed.  They knew their priorities when it really counted.

There's so many other memories that come to mind while I'm remembering these.  Maybe I'll add more at another time.  Memories are comforting and therapeutic.  I hope these help you see a glimmer of what made Noelle so special to us and her friends and family.