Noel was born in Spokane in 1971. His optimism and joy of life touched all who knew him. He died on June 28, 1996. He was 25.

Noel was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetically inherited disease which made his lungs vulnerable to damage from particulate air pollution. Cystic fibrosis affects one child out of every 1600 born. A cure is just a few years away, but that cure will come too late for Noel.

Noel never let his disease get in the way of his life. The key to staying healthy with cystic fibrosis is exercise and Noel kept himself busy. He participated in many sports - track, ice hockey, football, and swimming. In the summer of 1989, Noel was looking forward to his senior year at Lewis and Clark High School.

Grass burning that year was particularly smoky and Noel reacted so badly to smoke that he was unable to sleep without oxygen or even climb a flight of stairs. He was hospitalized for a month. He never recovered.

In September l989, the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority (SCAPCA) voted to phase out burning. On March 14, 1990, a public hearing on the proposed phase down regulation was was held. Although weak and still very sick, Noel testified at this hearing, pleading with the SCAPCA board to keep its promise to stop the burning.

That promise was never kept. Without further public input or knowledge, the SCAPCA board adopted an entirely different regulation which incorporated most of the demands of the grass industry. No reduction in emissions was required.

Noel's condition continued to deteriorate, and in Spring 1995, he underwent a double lung transplant. For a while he had his life back. He was once again able to participate in sports. His ambition was to become an actor. Then, early in 1996, his new lungs began to fail. His mother and his sister wanted to donate a lobe from each of their lungs so that Noel could undergo a second transplant but he never regained enough strength. He will be missed by many.

Smoke Shortened Grandson's Life - A Letter from Noel's Grandfather   "We missed the symposium on grass burning due to being at the University of Washington Hospital. Our grandson has cystic fibrosis and received a double lung transplant in may 1995. That is a terrible ordeal to see a loved one go through. Now he has contracted obliterative bronchiolitis due to the transplant and is not expected to get out alive. If people who support grass burning could see a person bidding good-bye to friends and relatives they'll never see alive again, it would change their minds. It is really devastating. The grass burners did not give him cystic fibrosis, but they definitely shortened his life. Several years ago he was in the smoke long enough to put him in the hospital for approximately one month. He never did fully recover from that. The grass burners are right in saying cars and fireplaces do create a problem. They are not ready to admit theirs is a major problem also. It has to be stopped immediately. The people writing in support of burning are doing so because of greed." Dan Donoian Letters to the Editor Spokesman Review April 11, 1996