Douglas W. Noonan

On February 23, 2016, Douglas William Noonan of Norfolk, Massachusetts, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 62. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 4, 1953, the son of William and Peggy (Harmer) Noonan. Douglas grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, attending St. Andrew’s School and St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City graduating in 1971. He was a 1975 graduate of Rutgers University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Structural Engineering.

Douglas was a licensed Structural Engineer with an outstanding 35-year career in the corporate real estate industry at the Colgate-Palmolive Manufacturing Company, The Kendall Company, Fidelity Investments, and most recently, at Reebok International Ltd. and the adidas Group. For much of his career, he literally traveled the globe undertaking real estate projects, beginning in an era when very few people were engaged in international real estate. He joined Reebok in 1995 and further demonstrated his expertise with the development and construction of the Reebok World Headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts that colleagues and staff affectionately refer to as “The house that Doug built.” The campus is built on 44 acres and consists of athletic fields and facilities, including a 525,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, awarding-winning corporate headquarters, a 10,000 square-foot day care center, and a restored 12,000 square-foot mansion. When adidas acquired Reebok in 2006, Douglas's corporate real estate mandate grew. The combined portfolio of adidas/Reebok consisted of 20 million square feet of facilities on over 500 properties located in 68 countries around the world. His charge was to consolidate and "right size" the portfolio while creating technologically advanced facilities. He did this over the course of his career with adidas which resulted in a reconfigured portfolio of just 375 facilities but now consisting of 23 million square feet. Douglas completed transactions and/or projects in all 68 countries the company operates in today. Some of his major projects included 11 new state of the art distribution centers around the world consisting of approximately 7 million square feet and major new headquarters projects in Amsterdam, New Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo, Moscow and Dubai.

Douglas was a director and past president of the New England Chapter of CoreNet (the world’s leading association for corporate real estate and workplace professionals), a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a lecturer at the Boston Society of Architects and the Boston Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, as well as other professional and industry organizations. He was also a director of the South Shore Habitat for Humanity.

His impressive life achievements were outweighed only by the depth of his character and the nobility of his nature. As a result, he was blessed with many steadfast friendships all around the globe. The center of his universe, however, was his family. He was a most loving and devoted husband and father who spent his happiest days with his family. His extended family and all those who knew him well feel his loss profoundly.

Douglas is survived by his wife and sons, Tanya, Timothy and Patrick Noonan, his sister Nancy Noonan, his brother and sister-in-law David and Doreen Noonan, his in-laws Paul and Jeanne Morosky, Carol Belli, Michael and Judith Morosky, Frank Morosky and Denise Pelletier, along with numerous Noonan and Morosky aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Even in death Douglas is continuing to help others as a tissue donor through the New England Organ Bank in Waltham, Massachusetts.

A memorial service will be held at Reebok Headquarters, 1895 J.W. Foster Boulevard, Canton, on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 11:00AM. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to South Shore Habitat for Humanity in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

“Life is changed, but not ended.”