Reginald Noble

 Reg Paul Noble

It is with great sadness that we announce that our beloved Reg Noble died peacefully on October 6, 2026 at Princess Margaret Cancer Hospital with his family in attendance.  He had been living with pancreatic cancer for two years. 

            Reg was born in Birmingham, England on November 3, 1946 to Pierina (Arena) and Jack Noble, six years to the day after the birth of his brother Ron.  He began a life of international travel at the age of five (see photo) when his family sailed to the USA on the Queen Elizabeth.  After a brief stay, they returned to Birmingham where Reg completed his schooling.  Ever a nature-lover, Reg earned a BSc in Biology at the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1969 and a Master of Science in Applied Hydrobiology at the University of London, Chelsea College in 1970.  A DPhil in Science also from Chelsea College would follow in 1981 but not before Reg had begun a life of teaching and research, holding positions in Edinburgh, Ibadan and, in 1980, the University of Malawi.  He would spend the next seventeen years there.  Reg travelled widely in Malawi and also in East and Southern Africa.  He taught biology at the Chancellor College campus in Zomba for over a decade before joining the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) in 1991.  He left Malawi for Canada in 1996 to join his wife, Joey in Toronto. In 1999 their child, Rae, was born.  After he and Joey separated in 2005, they worked hard to preserve traditions of weekly family dinners and shared holiday celebrations.  Into the 2000s, Reg continued to work as a consultant for a wide range of international organizations which enabled him to travel further afield in Africa and Asia.  He eventually became Academic Coordinator and Instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Food Security Program where he applied his extensive real-world experience to teaching.  He worked in this program right up to his final weeks.  He was a passionate believer in our responsibility to protect our planet and in finding ways to support it and the lives of those sharing it, particularly those living on the margins.

            For all his career achievements, Reg will be best remembered for his love of occasion, friends, good food and drink, theatre, music and the time spent with his kid, Rae.  They were his greatest joy.  He was a voracious reader, often having multiple books on the go.  He was a wonderful travel companion as those who shared his adventures will remember.  We will miss his zany sense of humour, his impromptu science lessons (rabbits and hares are NOT at all similar) and spontaneous dance sessions.  We will hold a celebration of life in the new year when there will be time to share memories, raise a glass and, we hope, cut a rug in Reg’s honour.  Reg is survived by his only child, Rae Noble Power, and his ex-wife, Joey Power, his sister-in-law, Alicia, nephew Stuart and niece Geraldine.  We miss you, bambo.  Gonanini mwa mtendere.