Bird, Noel Vernon Noel Vernon BIRD Commander U.S. Navy, Retired, WWII Veteran Noel Bird, ninety-one, passed away peacefully on Christmas Day, December 25, 2009. Noel was born on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1918 in Berkeley, California. He is survived by his dearly loved wife of sixty-four years,E. June Bird; son, Stephen (Priscilla) Bird; daughters, Cynthia (Richard) Milligan, Jennifer (Fred) Vanderhoof, Kathryn (David) Cooley; grandchildren, Dan (Heather) Bird, Molly Bird, Rebecca Bird, Rachel Bird, Greg Vanderhoof, Julie (Michael) Baum, Ben Vanderhoof, Daniel Vanderhoof, Nathan Vanderhoof, Christina Cooley, Ann (Captain Joseph) Vaeth, Victoria (Andrew) Chatman, Paul Cooley, Mary Cooley; great grandchildren, Sam, Daisy, Alexander, Spencer, Madeleine. Noel graduated from University High School, Berkeley in 1936. He attended and graduated from the California Maritime Academy in June 1939 with a degree in Nautical Science. Following graduation, Noel served for a year as a cadet officer in the Merchant Marine Service on board the east coast cruise ship SS Brazil. In October 1940 he was commissioned an ensign in theU.S. Navy Reserve and assigned to active duty at San Diego, California. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, Noel's ship was on training maneuvers off the coast of Coronado, California. Immediately following the attack, his ship was loaded with spare parts and proceeded directly to Pearl Harbor to assist in repair of the fleet. During the war Noel served aboard two Attack Transports and was involved in fourteen amphibious landings in North Africa and throughout the Pacific. He retired with the rank of Commander after twenty-three years of naval service. Following his time with the Navy, Noel was employed from 1964 to 1982 by the Pacific Maritime Association as Director of Safety Training and Accident Prevention for maritime operations at the ports of Washington State. For over thirty years, Noel and June were active members of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Seattle, Washington, where Noel served as lay reader and member of the Vestry. A memorial service for Noel will be held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Seattle at 2:00 p.m. on January 16, 2010. Published in The Seattle Times on January 10, 2010