1926 to 2015

I've been asked to complete a first draft of an obituary. Part of it is the "drivers license photograph," the accomplishments and facts, but I also wanted to provide a picture into the man I knew. I just washed my hands and poured out a cup of coffee and, well, after a long conversation with my mother, here's what I can say about my grandfather.

Dr. Louis J. Noisin (August 16, 1926 - August 5, 2015) recently died.

He was a son, brother, father, uncle, grand and great grandfather, father-in-law, and god-father to many, who passed away Wednesday, August 5th, 2015 at 7:05 am. He is a very well known and loved man in the United States and Haiti.  There was never a time we went anywhere where he didn't run into someone who knew him or he knew - young and old.

He said many times before he retired, that he wanted to return home to Haiti. Though he was proud of what he accomplished outside of his country, he reminded everyone that he wasn't finished and that his efforts in Haiti will pay off when he's gone.

This was his vision: education to help those less fortunate. To do this, he founded a university. The first private one in Haiti, to help those from his home town, where many fit this criteria. He died leaving much to his family to continue where he began.

He was there for a lot of my milestones: my first job, learning how to drive, voting for the first time, and my high school and college graduations.

When I graduated from college, he congratulated me when the ceremony was done and said,

"Now, be the king of the jungle: a giraffe. Everyone says it's the lion, but it's not. A giraffes kick will disembowel a lion, but they never kick each other. Be the first to see trouble, stick your neck out for what you believe in, and never be afraid to go out and get the high-hanging fruit."

He was an optimist, not because he always had the sunniest disposition, but because he always thought one was able to do more. That effort led to success. If you didn't get everything, at least you got further than where you began. Whether through study, building relationships, or educating those you spend your days with, you can always make an impact. He was a realist, because while he didn't act like the smartest person in a room, he believed that you should try to be the best person in a room. Because you could try harder to be the best version of yourself.

Here's an edited article, provided by the College of William and Mary's Alumni Gazette, upon his hiring:

"A dean at William and Mary stopped a new professor and told him: 'I don't know what you are doing in your courses, but please continue. The students are crazy about your classes.'

Born into the elite of Haiti, Mr. Noisin earned degrees in lettres, law, and ethnology in Haiti and studied at New York University and the University of the Congo, as well as in Paris. He entered the diplomatic corps in 1952 and served in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the UN, and in Mexico over the next five years.  Professor Noisin is knowledgeable in five languages and speaks English with impeccable enunciation. In 1957, when the government came under the command of Papa Doc Duvalier, a former professor under whom Noisin had studied at the University of Haiti, he left the government and returned home to work in the insurance business.

In 1961, he had an opportunity to leave Haiti and go to work for UNESCO, in the Congo, where he worked until 1969. In the Congo, he served as principal of four different schools and as a government inspector of all the schools in the country. In his first assignment, he served as principal of the main school in the capital city, with 1200 students and 65 teachers. 

Professor Noisin came to the United States in 1969 after a visit to the Congo by an official who had been Dean of the Faculty at Hampton University. Hampton hired him sight unseen. While at Hampton, Mr. Noisin taught in the evening college at William and Mary, where he met the chairman of the Department of Anthropology, Dr. Nathan Altshuler.

Mr. Noisin was the first Black in William and Mary's history to hold full faculty rank. He taught courses in the politics of Africa and the cultural anthropology of Africa, in conjunction with the Department of Government. He also taught anthropology and education with the School of Education and on the peoples and culture of the Caribbeans."

Mr. Noisin became Dr. Noisin, earning his PhD from University of Virginia. Earlier, he earned an MA from Hampton University, and a law degree from Université d’Etat d’Haïti.

In 1987, with a grant from the College, he returned to Haiti and was elected to the Senate, representing Cap Haitien, in the Nord Department. In this position, he helped to establish the new constitution of the country and develop the small, private university, Universite Roi Henri Christophe, founded in the 1980s in Cap Haitien, Haiti.

Following political unrest, he returned to Virginia in a position as an adviser to the President of Christopher New Port University, where he stayed until retiring in 1996. Following his retirement, Denise (his wife) and he relocated to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, where he taught at Florida International University.

In 2007, they returned to Cap Haitien, where Dr. Noisin worked to reestablish the university he founded in the 1980s. Currently, over 500 students receive an education and a future that Dr. Noisin would be proud to provide. After grooming his son and daughter to lead this institution, Dr. Noisin died after finding peace with declining health late in life.

He is previously deceased by Denise (wife), Carole (daughter), and Phillipe (son). He is survived by Edouard (son), Chantal (daughter), eight grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. This is a small representation of family who love and miss him, that extends from Haiti, to the United States, Spain, Australia, and farther.