Bonnie W. Noble

Bonnie was born on August 11, 1941, in River Forest, the daughter of Robert M. and Laura A. West. She married the love of her life, Kent A. Noble, on April 25, 1964 in River Forest. He survives.

Together, Bonnie and Kent were blessed with three daughters, Cindy (Shannon) Noble of Charlotte, NC, Kristen (Darin) LaHood and Jamie (Dan) Hogan, all of Peoria; five cherished grandsons, McKay, Lucas, and Theodore LaHood and Maxwell and Thatcher Hogan; and her brother, Robert C. (David) West of Sarasota, FL.

Bonnie attended Oak Park River Forest High School and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation and Park Administration.

In 1968, after graduating, Bonnie and Kent moved to Peoria. In 1973, Bonnie was the first woman elected as a Trustee of the Peoria Park District. Over the next 43 years she would continue to preside in some leadership capacity for the Park District until her retirement in April of 2016. She served 19 years as a Trustee and Board President and 24 years as the Executive Director.

During her tenure as Executive Director, the Peoria Park District received the 1994, 2001, and 2010 National Gold Medal Awards for excellence in park and recreation management, and accreditation as one of the first Illinois Distinguished Park Districts. In 2004 Bonnie was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy for Parks and Recreation, a national group limited to 125 practicing professionals.

As Executive Director, her major accomplishments were partnering with OSF Saint Francis Medical Center to build the downtown RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness Center, the development and completion of the Rock Island Trail in 2013, including the Knoxville Avenue bridge, leading efforts to establish the Peoria Playhouse Children's Museum, and tripling the size of the Peoria Zoo by leading a capital campaign in 2009. But by far, her greatest accomplishment is the positive impact the District has had on its hundreds of thousands of people...the people she worked with every day and the families and individuals that have enjoyed the beautiful parks, golf courses, and facilities throughout Peoria.

Bonnie had received the Joseph Bannon Practitioner Award, the Jaycees Good Government Award, the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Athena Award, and the Ray A. Neumann Tri-County Citizen of the Year Award, among others. In 2013, the Peoria Park District Board of Trustees honored her "total commitment and dedication to the citizens and employees of the Peoria Park District" by naming their new administration offices the "Bonnie W. Noble Center for Park District Administration". She was also the recipient of the Charles K. Brightbill Distinguished Alumni Award, awarded annually by the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois.

The family is deeply grateful to all the caregivers who enhanced her quality of life over the past two years.

Bonnie's visitation will be from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm Monday, September 13, 2021 at Davison-Fulton-Woolsey-Wilton Funeral Home in Peoria. Her funeral service will be following the visitation at 7:00 pm also at the funeral home. A private family committal service will take place in Springdale Cemetery in Peoria.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Peoria Park District at https://donations.peoriaparks.org/donations/

Online condolences may be left for Bonnie's family at www.woolsey-wilton.com