Larry E. Noe

Larry Edward Noe of Livingston, died peacefully on May 1, 2025 after a long illness.  He was 78.

Larry was born December 23, 1946, to Edward Allen and Margery Helen (Barrow) Noe.  His parents were fun-loving storytellers, and Larry inherited the gift of gab.  He spent his formative years in Clyde Park, his mother's hometown, where he and his younger brother Jerry played in the wide-open space and (mostly) avoided trouble.  Times were hard, especially by modern standards, but they created some of Larrry's most cherished memories and best stories.

By the mid -1950's he had moved with his family to Livingston, where his parents' opportunities for steady work were better.  Although his formal education was nearly derailed from the start - as a kindergartner he was picked up by a police officer for truancy because he found someone to play with on his way to school, Larry graduated from Park County High in 1965.  At age 19 he took a job as a delivery boy at Montana Motor Supply in Livingston, beginning a career in the auto parts business that would last nearly 45 years. 

In 1968 he married Joan Marie Bowles, and together they raised two sons, Larry was an exceptionally involved father, throwing himself into whatever interest his boys, from T-ball to Cub Scouts.  He also organized family camping and boating trips to Dailey Lake and cross-county skiing trips to Mill Creek, where he somehow finagled the use of rustic cabins from his friends and customers.  His plans were often disrupted by Montana's fickle weather, for which he expressed a deep and abiding dislike.  But some family members have speculated that he secretly loved the challenge of overcoming the weather, especially the long, brutal winters.  He seemed to take pleasure in spending hot, dry summer days with family cutting wood in the mountains to prepare for the cold days to come and living through the sub-zero temperatures once Old Man Winter began to bite generated some action-packed stories. 

In 1982 he seized an opportunity to manage the Montana Motor Supply store in Townsend, and he moved his family from Livingston soon thereafter.  His business acumen and charming way with customers led to growing sales in the Townsend store, and he made a lot of friends along the way.

In 1999 he married Marcia Rae (Thompson) Bacon and moved back to Livingston.  He retired from the auto parts business in 2010, having spent the last part of his career as a traveling salesman in Yellowstone Park.  Though stricken with a muscular disease in his later years that eventually confined him to a wheelchair, he faced it as he did every challenge in his life - with grace and good humor.

Larry was not only a creative thinker, he could project what was in his mind to the physical world.  He was an amateur artist, carpenter, plumber, electrician, engine rebuilder, body shop repairman, house painter, gold panner and birdhouse maker.  Ironically, he was also an avid bird hunter. His search for geese sometimes took him to Alberta, where he discovered that his jokes also landed with the Canadians.  While something of a perfectionist, he received as much joy from failing at his various projects and ventures as from his many successes.  After all, the learning opportunities were greater, and the storytelling was better.

Larry is survived by his loving wife Marcia of Livingston; his sons, Randal and daughter-in-law Barbara of Alexandria, Virginia, Rodney and daughter-in-law Cherry Mae of Johnson city, Tennessee; his stepson, Stetson of Portland, Oregon; his brother, Gerald (Laurie) of Grand Junction, Colorado; his sister Judy (Mark) of Choteau, Oregon; He is further survived by his ex-wife, Joan (Bowles) Hesson of Three Forks; five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, May 17, 2025 at the Livingston Christian Center. A lite reception will immediately follow the service at the church. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Livingston HealthCare Hospice, whose team provided great comfort to Larry at home during his final weeks. 

Franzen-Davis is honored to be entrusted to care for Larry and his family.

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