Mary Ann Noakes
For a generation of neighborhood kids on and around Franklin Drive in Montauk, Mary Ann Noakes was the go-to person for first aid for bumps, scrapes, and bruises.
Mrs. Noakes, a former nurse and medical department manager at a Westchester County medical center, died at the age of 82 on Aug. 16 at home in New Canaan, Conn. No cause of death was provided.
Her career began at Flower Hospital in New York City, from which she received a nursing degree and where she stayed on as an employee. From there she went to work at Veterans Hospital in downtown Manhattan, then to George Jensen.
She was born Mary Ann Palmer on Sept. 28, 1935, to the former Edith Pickens and Walter Palmer of Queens. Before nursing school, she attended Mary Louis Academy in Jamaica Estates, Queens.
She married John G. Noakes on Jan. 9, 1960, and left work to be a full-time mother.
Mr. Noakes had begun visiting Montauk in the 1940s with his parents. He and his wife bought property in the Hither Hills area in the early 1960s, and completed their vacation home in 1972.
Summer days were filled with friends from the Hither Hills neighborhood, where Mrs. Noakes, given her training, was the de facto nurse.
She and her husband were members of the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. for many years. In addition to golf, she enjoyed cooking and tennis. She attended St. Aloysius Church in New Canaan.
Her son, John G. Noakes III of Bethel, Conn., described her as a generous, kind, and gentle soul. She was very close to her parents and a fantastic cook, Mr. Noakes said.
In addition to her husband and son, Mrs. Noakes is survived by a daughter, Mariann Dalton Noakes of West Milford, N.J., and one granddaughter.
A funeral was held at Hoyt Funeral Home in New Canaan on Aug. 18. She was cremated and a portion of her ashes were buried in a family plot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.
Memorial donations have been suggested to tunnel2tower.org, a New York City firefighters’ charity set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.