Noble Clarence Brewer, 107

Noble Clarence Brewer, born May 4, 1912, in Lugert, Okla., passed away peacefully on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. He was 107 years old.

Noble was predeceased by his wife, Wilma Chenoweth of 75 years; his son, Eugene Noble Brewer and his daughter, Louise Kaye Darcy, who passed away Jan. 5, 2020.

Noble had three grandchildren: Michael T. Williams, Dale A. Williams and Cynthia S. Farmer; six great-grandchildren: Jennifer M. Williams, Steven M. Williams, Christopher T. Williams, Timothy S. Williams, Alex Spangler and Deveny Ann Baeli-Hall; and five great-great-grandchildren: Evan Williams, Sean Spangler, Sativas Spangler, Indica Spangler and Kingslee Noble Hall.

Noble Brewer was born on a Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma City. His family later moved to Colorado and Noble graduated from Loveland High School in Loveland, Colo.

Early on Noble loved to tinker with engines and cars. While he was in high school he built a car from junk parts and he raced wherever he could. In fact, he still had a scar that was acquired when he drove through a fence while racing. After graduating from high school he started college, however he was only able to attend one year due to the Depression. Instead, Noble decided to take correspondence courses — studying about aircraft and how to fly. Through his studies and his own ingenuity he built a plane from wood and fabric. It had an open cockpit, a single engine and no brakes. Flying became his life!

In 1936, Noble married the love of his life, Wilma Chenoweth. He and Wilma raised two children: a son named Eugene and a daughter, Louise. Noble’s career began with his love for engines and tinkering, and then later, his love for flying. He worked for Western Airlines for 20 years and then for McDonald Douglas for another 20. He earned the name of “Airplane Doctor” because he could fix just about anything related to a plane. He trained as a pre-flight and test flight inspector; looking for problems was his job.

Noble was never officially in the military but he was appointed as a Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Air Force during WWII. He served with the Air Transport Command, a unit created during the war mainly for deliveries of supplies and equipment. When the Japanese took control of the Aleutian Islands in 1942, the Americans landed 11,000 troops on the island of Attu. The men suffered from frostbite, gangrene and trench foot because of the conditions. Noble and his team volunteered to fly supplies into the Aleutians, and fly the wounded and dead home.

The DC3 he flew had hard floors and no galley. His team flew into a live war zone, making daytime flights. They flew without a radio — all they used was a compass and “Dead Reckoning.”

Noble had lived through two world wars and three depressions. He was 6 in 1918 and remembered when WWI ended. All of his neighbors came outside and shot off shotguns to celebrate. Noble also remembers D-Day and the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.

Noble and Wilma lived around the world, including Santiago, Chile; Helsinki, Finland; Tokyo, Japan; Quebec, Canada; and in the USA: San Francisco and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Noble spoke seven languages over the years.

He was a patriot of our country and a proud WWII veteran — we thank him for his service. Noble was also the oldest living Shriner prior to his death and a Life Member and 32nd Degree Freemason of over 50 years of service.

Services will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2020, at Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 8999 N. Strahorn Road, Hayden, ID 83835.