Word has been received of the death on Dale Noble on Saturday, March 22nd. You may recall that in a previous post, Carl and I went to Santa Barbara to visit Dale and his wife, Alice, where they moved to be closer to their son and grandchildren. Dale was the long-time choral conductor of Kamehameha Schools, and he and Alice were members of Calvary-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church in Aina Haina. Dale was one of the original eight members of the LCH Compline Choir, and so we have been friends for a long, long time. He and Alice were great supporters of the LCH music program and frequently came to LCH’s musical events. Dale’s brother, Weston Noble, is a highly-respected choral conductor, and is best known for his 57-year tenure on the music faculty of Luther College.

Here’s what Dale’s son, Dean, wrote on Facebook:

Aloha Everyone. My mother, Alice, and I have been flooded with thoughtful phone calls, e-mails and postings about my father’s death. While we knew my father was well loved in Hawaii and in the world of music, even we have been surprised at the waves of love and aloha. It means so much to us. Thank you.

The details: He passed away about 90-minutes after being admitted to Cottage Hospital here in Santa Barbara on Saturday. He has (blessedly) been in my parents beautiful Santa Barbara garden apartment up until then. Just a few months ago, his trainer at 24-Hour Fitness liked to show off his 82-year-old client who could “plank” for two minutes. However, he had “CLL” chronic lymphocytic leukemia. His body was not able to produce a good amount of healthy, white blood cells (as I understand it). In the last ten months, he had rallied from a tumor surgery on his face and wrestled with chemo-therapy … but, ultimately, his body was unable to fight off a pneumonia-like infection in his lungs.

We hope to have plenty of music at both. Please stay tuned and help us spread the word.

Here are just a few of the many tributes that are pouring in to the Noble family:

Your passing brings such sadness yet such gratitude for having been your student. To sing under your direction with Kamehameha Concert Glee was truly a gift. Your musical influence on me endures to this day almost 30 years later. Thank you for being an incredible music teacher, mentor and choral director and for showing a group of Hawaiian high school kids that we had the talent to sing with the best of them. God bless you as you now lead a chorus of angels. (S.I.A.)

Mahalo Mr. Noble for all you did for us at Kamehameha. What you instilled in us with your musical direction has taken so many of us onward and upward. You Fly With Angels, and direct his heavenly chorus Rest In Harmonious Paradise. (T. M.)

To many, he was the inspiring chorus teacher at Kamehameha Schools, but to me he was a life mentor and one of the very first people who encouraged me to pursue composing music. I met him not long after I joined the Honolulu Symphony Chorus (he sang bass). He was warm, encouraging, loving, humble, and funny all at the same time. I enjoyed listening to his stories very much and will cherish all the memories. Aloha, until we meet again. (C.S.)