Bill Noël
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William Douglas Noël (May 11, 1914 – January 9, 1987), was an independent oilman, industrialist, banker, rancher, philanthropist, and civic leader in
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,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.


Background

Noël was born in
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, the son of Earnest Noël and the former Inez Turnpaugh. Orphaned at the age of six, he was reared by grandparents and an aunt and an uncle. In 1931, Noël graduated from high school in Fort Worth. In 1935, he earned a
Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
degree from the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Thereafter, he worked as a roustabout for
Gulf Oil Company Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
. In 1936, he moved to the Permian Basin of
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to work as a chemist in the Gulf Oil Wickett refinery. His extensive endeavors in all phases of oil production soon transformed the Odessa economy into a major petrochemical complex. Noël also became involved in banking and ranching throughout Texas. With Earl G. Rodman, Sr. (1896–1976), Noël in 1956 co-founded the American Bank of Commerce in Odessa. In time, he acquired major interest in banks in Big Spring, Fort Worth,
Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
,
San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
, and
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. In 1973, when three Noël-Rodman banks merged, Noël became a director of Texas Commerce Bancshares of Houston. In 1940, Noël moved to McCamey, now known as the "Wind Energy Capital of Texas," located in Upton County. There he joined M. H. McWhirter of Monahans and J. B. Tubb of Crane County to establish the Trebol Oil Company. Noël worked long hours for Trebol. Trebol drilled fifty-two consecutive producing wells before it struck a dry hole. Noël was so consumed with pursuits of the business that he claimed to have been unaware that he had become a millionaire until several years after the accumulation of his early fortune.


Business ventures

In 1946, Noël and Earl Rodman also formed a partnership with the purchase of a refinery, which they named the Odessa Natural Gasoline Company. In 1957, Noël and Rodman founded West Texas Gathering Company, which resold
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
to residential customer of two other companies. The partners further drilled discovery wells in two fields in Upton County. In 1975, Noël purchased Fort Terrett Ranch in Sutton County near
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, Texas. On this ranch, Noël grew Texas
pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
s as a commercial food source in an orchard of . He also owned orchards in Upton and
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
counties. In 1963, Noël was named "Outstanding Citizen" of Odessa. That same year he was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Odessa's sister city of Midland. In 1985, UT named Noël a distinguished alumnus.


Civic endeavors

Noël worked to establish the
University of Texas of the Permian Basin The University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB) is a public university in Odessa, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTPB was authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1969 and founded in 1973. UTPB is now home to over 7,000 student ...
, which opened in Odessa with barely a thousand students in 1973. In 1974, Noël and his wife, the former Ellen Witwer (March 21, 1914–May 1, 2008), with an initial outlay of $245,525, endowed the Ellen and Bill Noël Scholarship Fund at UTPB. Noël wanted to assist the children of his employees attending UTPB and to boost enrollment on the then fledgling campus. In an interview, Noël acknowledged that his opportunity to attend college had been essential to his own success: 'I've always felt like that was something that needed to be repaid." The Noëls endowed the position of the Ellen and Bill Noël Distinguished Professor for Energy Research, recently held by Dr. Mike Robinson. The couple also underwrote scholarships at the
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
,
Odessa College Odessa College is a public junior college in Odessa, Texas. The college serves the people of Ector County and the Permian Basin. It was established in 1946 and enrolle8,024 studentsin Fall 2021 and 7,679 students in Spring 2022 in its universi ...
, and contributed to the establishment of the Globe Theatre of the Great Southwest, patterned after
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's Globe Theater and located on the Odessa College campus. Bill and Ellen Noël had two daughters. Lissa N. Wagner of Midland and Sherwood Noel McGuigan of
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,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, and six grandchildren. The couple was
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. Noël died of cancer in Odessa at the age of seventy-two. His wife died in her Odessa home twenty years later.


Ellen Witwer Noël

On May 24, 1937, Noël married Ellen Witwer, a native of
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,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, and a graduate of
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
in
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,
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, where she was a member of
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. Early in her career, she taught school while the couple lived in McCamey, Texas. In time, she became a philanthropist in her own right. In 1993, Mrs. Noël contributed $1 million to establish the UTPB "Support for Excellence Fund," which is invested in the university's long-term account. A veteran supporter of the arts, she is the namesake of the Ellen Noël Art Museum of the Permian Basin, located adjacent to the
Presidential Museum and Leadership Library The Presidential Archives and Leadership Library (formerly, the Presidential Museum) is a museum and library complex located at 4919 East University Blvd. in Odessa, Texas, on the campus of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. History ...
. She co-sponsored the creation of the Noël Heritage Plaza in downtown Odessa. She was active in the Midland/Odessa Symphony & Chorale, the Permian Playhouse, the White-Pool House Museum, and the Parker Ranch House, Mrs. Noël also contributed funds for the Ellen and Bill Noël Therapy Center at High Sky Children's Ranch in Midland. She was one of the first woman directors of the
Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
in Odessa. UTPB's Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center is an $81 million state-of-the-art music and theater complex, next to the UTPB Center for Energy and Economic Diversification, is located midway between Odessa and Midland. It opened on November 1, 2011, with a Gala Concert featuring Rod Stewart. Upon her death, Mrs. Noël donated to UTPB their estate, "Noël Oaks" at 2540 Palo Verde Drive in Odessa. Though the large Noël home had been intended for use as the president's residence, rising maintenance costs prompted the university to place the house on the market in June 2009 at an asking price of $2.1 million. When sold, proceeds were to be diverted to the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, according to UTPB president David Watts. Upon Mrs. Noël's death, the ''
Odessa American The ''Odessa American'' is a newspaper based in Odessa, Texas, that serves Odessa and the rest of Ector County. The newspaper has daily editions (sold at $2) and Sunday/Thanksgiving Day editions (sold at $3). The paper is particularly notable fo ...
'' wrote in an editorial in her honor:
She was the epitome of grace and good taste. She was a tireless community leader and perhaps the most philanthropic citizen and arts patron to ever call Odessa home. ... Drive around Odessa and just take a look at all the things that benefited from the generosity of both Noëls. Theaters, museums, the Salvation Army, Harmony Home: The list could go on forever. And then think about how many wonderful deeds were done quietly and anonymously. Because that's really how Ellen Noël worked her magic. She was not a giver who insisted on having her name tied to her good deeds. In fact, she really didn't want the Ellen Noël Art Museum to be named after her and had to be talked into it. Gracious and generous. There is no way to account for all of the generous donations made by the Noëls behind the scenes. There are simply too many. Her wonderful example of generosity and volunteerism has set a high standard in Odessa for philanthropists and volunteers."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Bill 1914 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American businesspeople in the oil industry American bankers McCombs School of Business alumni People from Odessa, Texas People from McCamey, Texas People from Fort Worth, Texas Historical preservationists Ranchers from Texas American Presbyterians Deaths from cancer in Texas University of Texas Permian Basin 20th-century American historians 20th-century American philanthropists