On June 12, 2021, this world lost him, but heaven gained a gregarious soul! Robert Sterling “Bob” Noreen was a unique man: a loving father, combat-tested solider, an accomplished lawyer and friend to everyone he met. Moreover, he shared a long life and deep, mutual affection with his one and only, Betty.
Bob was born to Sterling and Virginia Noreen in the Chicago suburbs. He demonstrated leadership early, an Eagle Scout and a standout leader in sports and in school. Bob attended Luther North High School, where was an accomplished athlete and scholar. He lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and track and still found time to sing four years in the choir. Senior year he was student council vice president and was All-State and team MVP in football.
In July 1965, Bob entered the Academy, endured Beast Barracks, and became a member of Company A-1. Mature beyond his age, he never flinched at the antics of plebe year and endured it with an ever-present smile that made people think he knew a secret that no one else did. Bob never let a good story or prank get in the way of studying. He would often draw the back of the head of the cadet in front of him in class and present it to him after class. Bob enjoyed pushing the envelope, whether it was seeing how long he could go without shaving or being the first cadet to get a pair of bell bottom jeans. He played lacrosse for three years and served as a Protestant Sunday School teacher. He made many lifelong friends and certainly made life in the east barracks easier.
Upon graduation Bob completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, as well as Airborne and Ranger schools. Germany was next. He served as an Infantry platoon leader, company executive officer and company commander in the 3rd Infantry Division. It was in Germany that Bob met and fell in love with Betty, then a teacher in Heidelberg.
They met on a beautiful spring day near Oberammergau. Betty had stopped her car and walked up a hill to take in the beauty of the day and read Daybreak by Joan Baez. Bob saw the car and climbed up the hill to investigate. Speaking in German, he asked if she was having car trouble. That chance meeting changed their lives forever. On their next date they decided to get married. They met on April 19 and were married three months later, on July 19 of 1970.
A year later Bob was in Vietnam, and, after an initial assignment with the 101st Airborne, he moved to become the special assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics to USARV. After the North Vietnamese spring offensive of 1972, he was attached to the 5th Special Forces as a combat advisor in the highlands around Kontum. He was instrumental in getting several depleted ARVN battalions back into the fight. Bob was awarded the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal.
After Vietnam, Bob went to McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, CA. He and Betty lived in the country along Arcade Creek, where they had horses, an orchard, and a large garden. Bob had always wanted to live on a farm since his early childhood days. Bob graduated in May 1975, attended a Judge Advocate General course, and was then stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco for the next four years. Their lives changed forever in 1977 when they adopted two children: Mali, 2, and David, three months old. Fatherhood filled him with joy!
In 1979, Bob was assigned as the post Judge Advocate at Fort Wainwright, AK and later transitioned from active duty to Army Reserve. His initial civilian job was as an energy auditor for the State of Alaska, traveling to remote towns and villages throughout the state. They bought a house in downtown Fairbanks that he would later remodel into his law office.
In 1988, Bob opened his law practice, which he and Betty ran for the next 18 years. In 2005, he closed his office and, for the next 10 years, took conflict cases from the public defender agency. His focus was on criminal defense, child protection, and guardianships. He retired again in 2015, but never stopped taking cases. Bob was a great advocate for his clients, with special focus on the disabled. He was still working cases when he passed away.
Bob had a passion for building things, which first surfaced in Germany after he remodeled their apartment. During law school he built pastures and a barn on the property. In Alaska he had multiple projects, starting with a Sesame Street Club House for the children at Fort Wainwright. He doubled the size of the family house, adding a master bedroom and bath, a half court gym, wine room and game room. On the 12-acre property he built a two-story barn, two green houses, a pond and a four-hole golf course. His masterpiece was a project that lasted over 20 years, a three-story log cabin with two carved gnomes guarding the front window.
In 2017, after nearly 40 years in Alaska, Bob and Betty moved to Colfax, CA to be near to family. He continued with his remodeling: building his man cave, complete with workshop, a climbing wall, weight room and a rowing machine. Happily, the move also reconnected him with many of his classmates, especially his regular coffee klatch buddies.
Bob embraced life to the fullest. He loved God and his family. He helped anyone in need and was proud to be an honored member of the “Best of the Line, ’69.”
— An old friend, Austin Yerks