James Nicholas “Nick” Noyes

James Nicholas “Nick” Noyes died peacefully at his home in Fitzwilliam on Feb. 16, 2023. He was 83.

Nick loved music, movies and literature, especially poetry. A gifted teacher, he was an inspiration to his students. He was a talented photographer and took wonderful pictures of family and friends.

But most of all, Nick loved his family a ” his wife and childhood sweetheart, Emily Trowbridge Noyes, and their four sons, and eventually, four grandchildren. He was a loyal and attentive husband and father.

Born July 16, 1939, Nick grew up in New York City and Sharon, Conn., and attended the Hotchkiss School. He earned a bachelor of arts from Yale University in 1961 and he also held an Master of Arts in English from New York University.

Nick liked to say he’d known his beloved Emily since he was born a ” he attended her first birthday party when he was 2. They fell in love in high school a ” his life began when he started dating Emily, Nick said a ” and were married in New Haven, Conn., on Dec. 23, 1961, when he was in Officer Cadet School for the U.S. Navy. Their first child was born in 1962 and they named him Andrew.

Three more boys soon followed.

After his military service Nick worked as an English teacher at the Fenn School in Concord, Mass. In 1971, he and Emily moved their family to Dover, Mass., when he got a job at the Charles River School, where he worked for 11 years. He taught English to 7th- and 8th-graders and served as the head of the upper school. He was also interim headmaster for a year.

A dedicated and devoted teacher, he explored innovative new education theories and methods, viewing each student as a unique individual with their own talents and interests. He saw his children this way as well, and their family was very close. They biked together, played sports, and went to Maine for camping and canoe trips in the summer. He passed on his love of literature to them as well. One Christmas tradition involved each person selecting a poem or a short story and reading it aloud to the family.

Nick loved to listen to music both live and recorded. He took sound engineering correspondence classes and attended classical music performances when he could. When he was in his 60’s he bought an electric piano and took lessons. He was not a natural. In another life he’d have been a concert pianist, he said, and although he gave up lessons, he vowed to keep listening to music as long as his hearing held up.

Nick and Emily moved to Fitzwilliam in 1984, when Nick took a job as a software engineer at New Hampshire Ball Bearings in Peterborough. They renovated their 18th-century home and created a robust garden, including maintaining several dozen high-bush blueberries.

After his retirement in 2004, Nick’s contributions to his home town included serving as the Fitzwilliam Trustee of Trust Funds and on the Town Library Board of Trustees.

Nick was preceded in death by his wife, Emily, who died in 2021.

He is survived by his four sons: Drew Noyes and his wife, Rachel, of Vinalhaven, Maine, and their children, Hannah and Henry; Jim Noyes of Fitzwilliam; Ben Noyes of Belchertown, Mass., and his children, Oliver and Zoe; and Josh Noyes of Los Angeles.

A celebration of Nick and Emily’s lives will be held on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at 1 p.m., at their home at 76 Putney Road in Fitzwilliam. All who loved them are invited. Please feel free to bring a dish of finger food to share.