Michelle Noble – a celebration of her life

Michelle Jessica Noble, a native Houstonian who pushed aside her own critical health problems to act as advocate, guide, mom and cheerleader to those battling drug or alcohol addiction, died Saturday, February 16, 2008 of thyroid cancer. She was 45. Noble, a licensed chemical dependency counselor at several women’s shelters in Houston, was working for the past four years at Volunteers of America, which operates a residential treatment facility for the indigent and offers housing for those who make it through the VOA treatment program. “She loved what she did and was very good at what she did,” said Mary Buchner, program director at the VOA’s McGovern campus. “I’ve seen some of her clients. They are in some real grief; there’s a feeling of loss.” A Lamar High School graduate, Noble left Houston to attend Mount Vernon College in Washington, DC She left during her final semester in 1982 after being diagnosed with the thyroid cancer she would live with for the next 25 years. “She’s had lots of operations, radiation treatments. She fought. She was a strong person,” said Vivienne McGehee, her sister and only sibling. Noble married and divorced. About 20 years ago, she worked as a waitress at Molina’s so she could study to become a licensed counselor for those dealing with drug addiction. “Because of everything she had been through, she was very straightforward, no fear I would say,” said Gloria Mounger, who once trained with Noble. “She really had a passion for helping people …
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