Jo Howarth Noonan

Jo Howarth Noonan, who resided in Atlanta, GA, with Patrick S. Noonan, her husband of 30 years, and two sons Paul and Will, died on June 10, 2015.

Born Mary Jo Howarth, on December 3, 1956, in Springfield Illinois, she was the fifth and last child of Nelson O. Howarth and Mary W. Howarth. In 1978 Ms. Noonan earned a B.A. at Lawrence University Appleton, WI, and in 2007 she earned an M.A from Georgia State University Atlanta. In 2008, the Lawrence University Alumni Association honored her long service to the university, including six years on the Alumni board and two years of leadership of the board, with the Gertrude B. Jupp Award.

Ms. Noonan was a widely-respected and much-beloved member of the Atlanta theater community, appearing frequently over the years in dramatic and comedic roles at Essential Theatre, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, OnStage Atlanta, Out of Box Theatre, Process Theatre, Seen and Heard, Springer Opera House, Stage Door Players, Theatre Gael, and 24-Hour Plays. In 2015, she was recognized as one of Atlanta’s Ten Best Local Actresses, and noted especially for the “natural realism of her performances that instantly draws you in and makes you forget that you are watching a performance.” In 2009, she won the Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre Award for Best Actress for her solo performance in “Don’t Look at the Fat Lady.” Ms. Noonan also served as a mentor for playwrights, facilitated and acted in productions for the Kaiser-Permanente Educational Theatre Program, and recorded nearly a dozen audio books for ListenUp Audiobooks.

In her career as a visual artist, working in textiles and painted wood, Ms. Noonan took inspiration from quilting and other American folk traditions. Her passion project, Painted Mojo, was a unique line of hand-painted wooden objects–furniture, serving dishes, ornaments, birdhouses, and curiosities of all kinds.

Jo Howarth Noonan is remembered by her family and friends for her generous spirit, boundless creative energy, and experience of the human heart. Her knowing assessment of human frailty and deep powers of empathy made her a compelling actress, as well as the person everyone turned to for wise advice and loving encouragement. She loved to travel with her family, and had many joy-filled adventures across the US and Europe, to Peru, Colombia and Argentina, and most recently in South Africa and Botswana.

Ms. Noonan was preceded in death by her parents, Nelson and Mary Howarth, and her mother-in-law, Julia Sutton Noonan. She is survived by her husband, Patrick Sutton Noonan of Atlanta, GA, and sons, Paul Howarth Noonan of Salem, MA, and William Prindiville Noonan of Seattle, WA. Her husband’s father Patrick A. Noonan and his brothers Christopher H. Noonan Michelle and Thomas A. Noonan all of Springfield, IL, his brother Peter T. Noonan St. Louis, MO, her four siblings, Susan Howarth Eastman Alton, IL, William Louis Howarth Princeton, NJ, David Nelson Howarth Cortez, CO, and Lydia Howarth Nashville, TN, and their families, all deeply mourn her passing.

Private memorial services will be held in Atlanta and Springfield, IL, later this summer. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association or the Alzheimer’s Association.