Noah Jacob Yates Jr.

Noah’s mantra, “Thanks for all of the fun we had” is engraved on his tombstone. Married to his sweetheart and best friend Nancy for 54 fun-filled years. Proud Dad to three favorite sons – Jacob, Alex, and Nick. Later, a Dad to three lovely daughters –Deborah, Sharon, Estreanda—who married his sons. Whenever he talked about any of ‘em, you’d see him get excited, bobbing his head side to side and a twinkle in his eye.

Noah lived a wonderful life. Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, he’s big brother to his

sister Ricky. He loved comic books, sang in the choir, danced tap, played trumpet in the marching band, & built a homecoming float – he did all of these things with Ricky, like peas in a pod together. Noah earned money with a paper route for the Columbus Dispatch, sold magazines at Page News (Noah was held up in an armed robbery - unsolved mystery!), drilled holes into bowling balls at a sporting goods store, and worked a summer at the Mead Paper factory. He attended Ohio University before enlisting in the Navy in 1967 during the Vietnam war. From boot camp in Chicago to stationed in San Diego, met Nancy at a dance and fell in love. He loved the embrace of his home away from home having four new brothers who joked, “We voted: Noah’s in, Nancy’s out!”

Married March 29, 1969, then deployed for a tour of duty, his son Jacob, was born on Christmas Eve. Returning home to Imperial Beach, he began his career with Pacific Bell that lasted 43 years. Alexander Graham Bell was not at Noah’s retirement party but might’ve been at his orientation. Moved to University Heights when Alex was born in 1972. Bought a home for $39,500 in Mira Mesa in 1975 and

loved hiking the nearby canyon. Got politically active on the Mira Mesa Town Council, fighting developers from building a freeway in 1978 through Penasquitos Canyon. Co-hosted Penasquitos Park Day to grow support for Proposition C which passed, preserving the canyon and wildlife for future generations.

Noah was supportive of Nancy’s Happytime Preschool she ran out of our garage. He designed Happytime’s float for Mira Mesa’s 4th of July Parade that won 1st place. When Nancy rescued animals for Project Wildlife, Noah built flight cages for the dozens of birds she nursed back to health.

In May 1978, Jacob joined Cub Scouts and that changed everything. Noah moved on from politics to become a Den Leader & then Cubmaster. He was awarded the Spark Plug Award for creative ideas like a soap box derby called Cubmobile Races. He built a float for the 4th of July Parade. Noah learned to design custom scout patches & put patches on plaques he made for adults who helped, growing a

community around his family. He took countless training classes, then led Train the Trainer workshops & hosted Pow Wow, a conference where Noah learned about wow factors like using black powder for flag ceremonies; Scouting like a rock star!

Noah’s third son Nicholas was born in 1982, giving him a Neapolitan of sons with hair of brown, blonde & red. His family explored the outdoors when the calendar wasn’t filled with scouting. With Nick just months old, the family hiked Cougar Canyon and Grand Canyon Havasu Falls with the Swensrud family; the Sequoias in 1984.

Noah transitioned to Boy Scouts with Jacob. In 1984, with the support of six other families, Noah founded Troop 1212 as Scoutmaster. The troop thrives to this day with ~100 Eagle Scouts, including Jacob, Alex & Nick. Noah made a pact with each son they couldn’t get their driver’s license until they made Eagle or had to wait until they were 18yo. Noah attended Wood Badge and was honored with the prestigious Silver Beaver award for his decades of service to scouting and the community. Noah loved to ride his bike. He rode from home to his office downtown for years. He participated in the annual Midnight Madness Ride for over 20 years. He led bike trips down the California coast for scouts in 1986 (Santa Barbara to San Diego, 254 mi),

1988 (Ventura to San Diego, 188 mi), 1996 (San Francisco to Mexico, 655 mi.). He also led a Desert Moonlight Ride in Anza Borrego. Finally, he helped coordinate a group of parents from scouting for a weeklong ride through Napa Valley in 1989.

In the 1990s, Noah stepped down as Scoutmaster and got more into astronomy. He bought a big telescope and took a college course with Jacob. He attended Alex’s track meets and Nick’s baseball and football games. He got Aztec football season tickets so the friends he made in scouting still had a place to come together to regularly hang out.

In the 2000s, Noah and Nancy drove across America three times to visit family and Jacob who was now living in Washington, DC. He got his first passport stamp when he went to Alex and Sharon’s 2007 wedding in Costa Rica. Noah embraced change when he spent several Christmas’ in DC and Chicago.

In the 2010s when he was in his 60s, he retired from AT&T. He took several trips home to Ohio and across the Midwest, falling in love with covered bridges and rekindling his love of the seasons. At Halloween, he was known as the guy who gave out full-size candy bars to kids who looked through his big telescope. He erected a flagpole in his yard and his pride at being a Vietnam Vet was on full display.

In 2020, as the world was suffering through the pandemic, Noah was battling dementia. He died in his sleep peacefully at 75 on July 15, 2023. He is survived by a community of good folks he’s proud to call his friends.

Noah’s advice to all of us was once said on his son’s wedding day, ‘Take care of each other first, everything else takes care of itself’