Noel Dean Vineyard was born on his grandparents' farm outside Walton, West Virginia, on March 26, 1932, and left this world on February 6, 2025, in Montpelier, Idaho; now reunited with his beloved wife, Martha Sue Thompson. Noel was the oldest of 10 children born to Kit Carson and Emma Gay Vineyard.  He had one sister, Bernice, and eight brothers -- Bill, Kit Carson, Jr. (K.C.), James, Larry, Greg, Mark, David, and Matthew.  When Noel was 10, the family moved for a short time to Akron, Ohio, but eventually made their way to Idaho and settled in Woodville, where Noel graduated from Shelley High School in 1948. While working near Weiser, Idaho, he met Martha Sue Thompson when she served him a chocolate milkshake at a local drive-in.  Their first date was on Martha's birthday, August 18th, and three months later on November 18, 1953, they were married.  Their marriage was blessed with seven children -- Richard, Mary (Beth), Carol Sue, John, David, Vanessa, and James.  Noel and Martha were additionally blessed with 14 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren and counting. Noel was a hard-working man his entire life, starting with farm chores at age 4 and continuing for more than 80 years.  On the same day he graduated high school, Noel started work for the Union Pacific Railroad.  Over his 39-year railroad career he held many positions, mainly in the Signal Department, and worked in many locations throughout the West and Midwest within the UPRR system.  A promotion to Assistant Signal Supervisor brought Noel and his family to Montpelier, Idaho, in the Winter of 1971, where he has lived ever since.  In 1987, after 39 years of service, he retired from the UPRR.  Immediately after retirement from the railroad, he began his second career as a carpenter and handy-man and spent the next 30+ years working on many, many remodeling projects throughout the Bear Lake valley. Noel was an avid reader who simply loved knowledge, learning about people, places and things.  He had hundreds of books on nearly every subject you could imagine.  Albert Schweitzer was his favorite author, and he also enjoyed the poetry of Chief Dan George.  Noel had many other hobbies as well.  He enjoyed camping with his family, whitewater rafting on his boat, the Margarita-Vega, fishing on occasion, and cutting firewood.  He and Martha enjoyed traveling in order to have adventures and see new places while visiting family and friends.  Noel made friends wherever he went; he would strike up a conversation with anyone, from a pauper to a king.  Noel was known to be very charitable and was often the first to offer help and assistance to anyone in need. He collected coats throughout the year and gave them away in the wintertime.  He made sure all the neighborhood kids, family or not, had school supplies.  Many times, he stopped to help a stranger, a stranded motorist on the roadside.  And, chances are, if you're a relative he's given you a pocketknife.  He was multi-talented.  Besides his skills as a craftsman, engineer and mechanic, he liked practicing penmanship and had the unique and interesting talent of being able to write upside-down and backwards, in cursive, with either hand. Noel was a devoted husband and father.  He and Martha were married for 67 years before her passing in 2021.  Noel is survived by five children, his grandchildren, and two brothers.  He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, children Richard and Mary (Beth), and seven siblings. A celebration of life will be planned for later this year. Noel and Martha's children would like to recognize the staff at Bear Lake Memorial's Skilled Nursing Facility for the loving care our parents received during their tenure there, and the welcoming kindness shown to us, his family, while we were there helping our parents through the final stretches of their earthly journey.