Louis Raymond “Ray” Noel

Louis Raymond “Ray” Noel, 76, formerly of Many, died from his long battle with Lewy Body Dementia on Tuesday January 9, 2018, in Alpharetta, Georgia. There will be a memorial Service held at Rose-Neath Funeral home on Texas Highway outside of Many on January 27 with visitation from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. with the service beginning at 2 p.m. Family and friends are invited to visit with the family after the service at the Noel house at 139 Marla Street, at Shady Oaks. Ray was born on July 26, 1941 in Lafayette to Louis and Alice Noel in Lafayette General Hospital. He attended school at Opelousas High School until moving to Port Arthur, Texas. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and attended Lamar College in Beaumont, Texas. In 1962, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. After returning from active duty, he went to work for Western Auto where he went into management and later became a District Manager. After 12 years with Western Auto, his family moved to Many and opened a convenience store, which they converted to a barber shop, beauty shop, and Noel’s Used Book Store. The store was open from 1974 until it closed in 2016 due to Mr. Noel’s illness. He was preceded in death by his son, Charles Louis Noel of Shreveport; sister Loretta Jean Janice of Church Point; and parents, Louis Noel, and Alice Guillory Noel of Many, both formerly of Opelousas. He is survived by his wife, Linda Darcy Noel of Alpharetta, Georgia; daughter, Susan Noel Sands and husband, Douglas Sands, of Alpharetta, Georgia; sister, Barbara Noel Brown, of Metairie; grandchildren, Bethany Knippers Malone and husband, Matthew, of Mount Pleasant, Texas, Kevin Sands of Athens, Georgia, Jamie Knippers Hay and husband, Trevor, of Shreveport, Cameron Sands and Reagan Sands of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Tyler Knippers of Benton; great grandchildren, Beau Malone of Mount Pleasant, Texas and Savannah Hay of Shreveport; and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. Ray was a kind and loving family man who cared about his friends and neighbors and will be missed by his family and those who knew him. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Alzheimer’s research or Lewy Body Dementia research so that in the future other families will not have to endure these terrible diseases