Jason Matthew Noyes

Jason Matthew Noyes was born on January 12, 1982, and passed away far too soon on January 15, 2020. In his too short time on this earth, Jason led a beautiful life, full of love, friendship, nature, and beer.

Jason grew up in New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee, where he enjoyed bowling, playing video games, and staying up late to cause trouble with his friends. While at Michigan State, Jason attended numerous sporting events (GO GREEN!) and was active in the Outdoors Club. Jason studied abroad in Oslo, Norway, and traveled to England, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2004, Jason graduated from Michigan State with a degree in finance, and went on to graduate first in his class with a Masters in Accountancy from Notre Dame (something he was too humble to mention). He later obtained his CPA and pursued a career in accounting and finance at Ernst & Young, Northwestern Mutual, and in private equity.

Jason approached his life with enthusiasm and passion. When he did something, he went all in. After moving to Wisconsin, Jason developed a love for craft beer, and he made life-long friends with fellow beer geeks who were similarly interested in sharing, scrutinizing, and (mostly) enjoying rare beers. He connected with people all around the country and abroad through the website RateBeer, which still includes his detailed ratings of 7,500 (!!) beers at https://www.ratebeer.com/user/21554/

In recent years, Jason counterbalanced his love of beer with running, and once again he went all in. Not content to just jog around the neighborhood, Jason completed seven marathons, including the 2014 Chicago Marathon, as well as the Madison-Chicago Ragnar relay race and numerous shorter races. He also loved trail running and could also frequently be seen rocking an ice beard on the hills of his beloved Lapham Peak State Park.

But Jason’s biggest passion was his family. Jason met the love of his life Kelly (Averbeck) Noyes on his first day at Michigan State, and married her on August 14, 2005. Jason and Kelly loved travel, good beer, and good food, and were blessed with a happy marriage founded not only on love, but also a deep friendship.

Jason knew from a young age that he wanted a family, and he was never more fulfilled than when spending time with his children, Karina Jean Noyes (born in September 2009) and Wyatt Philip Noyes (born in November 2011). Jason was an involved parent, changing diapers, playing sports and games, engaging in both joke fests and long soul-searching discussions, and planning family outings, usually involving his love of animals and nature. In the last 8 years, the kids have gone on too many hikes to mention, forded a stream of snow melt in the Smoky Mountains, yelled at marmots on Mount Rainier, hiked the Bright Angel trail into the Grand Canyon, climbed to beautiful vistas at Zion National Park, and scrambled up Camelback Mountain (which only counts as good parenting because neither kid got hurt). This is in addition to hours spent fishing, biking, and snowmobiling.

In spring 2018, Jason developed a bad headache that turned out to be a glioblastoma (stage IV) brain tumor. He fought valiantly through two craniotomies, two rounds of radiation, and three types of chemotherapy, somehow managing to stay positive and keep his sense of humor to his last days. He died peacefully at AngelsGrace hospice, and donated his brain to further research efforts to spare others from this horrible disease.

Jason joins his mother, Jane E. Noyes, and is survived by his wife Kelly, children Karina and Wyatt, father Keith and step-mother Laura Noyes, sister Erin (Seth) Cowan, brother Alex (Gabi) Noyes, nieces Zoe and Nina Cowan, grandmother Gwen Messner, parents-in-law David and Kathy Averbeck, brother-in-law, Paul Averbeck, many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to causes close to Jason’s heart. Dr. Connelly and Dr. Bovi at Froedtert and the Medical College provided not only incredible medical care to Jason, but also wonderful advice, friendship, and comfort. Donations to fund their brain tumor research efforts can be made in Jason’s memory to the MCW Brain Tumor Research Program, c/o Dr. Jennifer Connelly, Froedtert Neurosciences, 9200 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53226.

Jason and Kelly adopted their first baby, a husky mix named Loba, from Elmbrook Humane Society in 2008, and have been honored to continue to work with that no-kill shelter, including through Jason’s position on the board. Donations to Elmbrook in Jason’s memory can be made at http://www.ebhs.org/index.php/how-to-help-2/donate.

We hope you can join us to celebrate Jason’s life at Raised Grain Brewery, 1725 Dolphin Drive, Suite B, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186, on Sunday, January 26 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, with a ceremony to be held at 3:30 PM.

We hope that the next time you drink a delicious beer, catch a big fish, or take a moment to enjoy the beauty of nature, you will think of Jason and smile. Cheers.