Samuel R Noble

Samuel R. Noble, a well-known Oklahoma oil man, businessman, civic leader and philanthropist, died in September 1992 at his ranch near Ardmore after a long illness. He was 67. Noble's father, the late Lloyd Noble, founded Noble Affiliates, Samedan Oil and Noble Drilling Co. At his death in 1950, Lloyd Noble willed the bulk of his estate, then valued at $10 million, to perpetuate the foundation he named for his father, Samuel Roberts Noble. Included in that gift was Samedan Oil and the bulk of Noble Drilling. In 1988, the estate was valued at $286 million. Noble was a student at OU when his father established the Noble Foundation in 1945. He received a bachelor's degree from OU in 1947 and a master's degree in business administration from Dartmouth College in 1949. Until his death, Samuel Noble served as trustee of the foundation named for his grandfather. Sam Noble was chairman of the board of Noble Affiliates Inc. and Noble Drilling Corp. As a civic leader, he spearheaded numerous philanthropic efforts through the Noble Foundation and his leadership in state organizations. He also served in high-ranking positions in educational and cultural institutions, including the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and as a University of Oklahoma regent. He served in the U.S. Navy for three years after graduating from St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wis., in 1943. He married Mary Jane Curtis in 1946. He is survived by his wife and four children, Lloyd Noble II, of Tulsa; Nicholas Burns Noble, of Oklahoma City; Russell B. Noble, of Ardmore; and Shelley Dru Mullins, of Vancouver, B.C.; a brother, Edward E. Noble of Atlanta; a sister, Ann Noble Brown, of Oklahoma City; a brother, Richard Noble, of Los Angeles; and seven grandchildren.