Noel C. Huyck died peacefully on October 18, 2019 following a year-long battle with esophageal cancer. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Huyck, daughter and son-in-law, Mary and William Gibson; his three grandchildren and their spouses, Amanda Geno and Rae Drossel, Benjamin and Aleesa (Aronoff) Gibson, and Tiffany (Gibson) and Devin Neu; his sister and brother-in-law, Daun and Roy Ketcheson; and his sister, Norma Donovan. He is preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Erma Huyck, and by two of his children, James Huyck and Catherine (Huyck) Mimms.
Noel was born in Carson City, Michigan, on March 9, 1931. From 1951 to 1954, Noel proudly served in the United States Air Force, and was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Noel worked for over 40 years as a certified public accountant, which included over two decades of service at the accounting firm Seidman and Seidman, later BDO Seidman. He retired in 1993.
Life after retirement gave Noel the time to explore the United States and beyond. He was delighted by his travels throughout Europe, where he could marvel at historic cathedrals and museums, and trace the roots of his Christian faith. He loved exploring the American West, and in 2013, Noel realized a lifelong dream to see the California Redwoods in person. His last major trip was to Walt Disney World in 2017, where he celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary with Nancy, Mary and Bill, his grandchildren, and all of their spouses.
Throughout his life, Noel personified the mantra, ‘Faith, Family and Friends’. Nothing was of greater importance to him. Church music was incredibly meaningful to him, and he spent over 30 years singing in church choirs, including two European performance tours with the choir at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. He was particularly proud of his service on the organ committee at St. Paul's, where he helped select the custom-designed, hand-built J.W. Walker & Sons organ that was installed in 1989; it remains one of the most unique and renowned in Michigan.
Visitation will be held at Pixley Funeral Home in Rochester on Thursday, October 24th from 5pm-8pm, and on Friday, October 25th at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Rochester from 10am-11am. A memorial service and luncheon will immediately follow at 11am, both at St. Paul's. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Wounded Warrior Project (https://www.woundedwarrior.org), or to the Baldwin Center in Pontiac, Michigan (https://www.baldwincenter.org/).
