Planned Giving

A Cub's Legacy—Diversity

Dominic J. Noonan

Dominic J. Noonan '03

On Dec. 20, 2015, Dr. Dominic J. Noonan, DPM '03 died suddenly due to complications from epilepsy. He was in his first year as a podiatric surgical resident at Detroit Medical Center.

Dominic was a charismatic, wonderful young man who was adored by his parents, extended family and many, many friends. He had a larger-than-life personality and embraced everyone he met. The devastation of his loss prompted his parents Laura and David Noonan to consider creating a legacy to provide for future Cubs at his beloved U of D Jesuit.

Using current gifts and a future gift from their estate, Laura and David created the Dr. Dominic J. Noonan '03—A Diverse Man for Others Scholarship within University of Detroit Jesuit's Circle of Care program. When asked what Dominic's legacy is, Laura replied, "His diversity! That is exactly why we chose the name of his scholarship to be Dr. Dominic J. Noonan '03—A Diverse Man for Others."

Dominic's parents created the endowed scholarship because they believe U of D Jesuit was the best part of his life. It was home to him. Not just for four years but for all the remaining years of his life afterward. The friendships made are forever. The lessons learned are forever. The memories are forever. U of D Jesuit truly lasts a lifetime! He felt safe. It was like a second home, where he could be himself with no judgment.

"As parents, we have made many decisions for Dominic, and the one we have never wavered from and are truly the most proud of, is the choice to send him to U of D Jesuit. It is of course with sacrifice, but with so much pride that we created this scholarship in his memory. It is also with 100% certainty that we know this is exactly what he would want—this opportunity for other young men to be given this 'gift' as he always felt it was, to be educated at the greatest high school in the world located in the city of Detroit that he also adored."

When asked what Dominic loved at The High, Laura said, "As ridiculous as this sounds, absolutely everything! He would say that if you leave the building at 2:36 p.m. then you're not living Cub Life! He was extremely close to Fr. Patrick Rice. He mentored him about life, and the two became friends sharing lengthy emails, having early-morning, in-person conversations, and sometimes just a simple nod to one another. They had a special bond.

Laura and David Noonan

David and Laura Noonan, Dominic's parents

"Dominic was also very close to Fr. Ron Torina through the school musicals because of Br. Jim Boynton. Freshman year Br. Boynton was chaperoning a school dance and mentioned to Fr. Torina about a certain football player who could dance and would be a good fit in the musical, West Side Story, that Father was directing. Needless to say, Dominic was hooked and became a Harlequin, participating in musicals during his days at the High bridging the gap between jocks and theatrical students.

"Dominic earned six varsity letters, three in football and three in baseball and was captain on both varsity teams. He made First honors every card marking and was in the National Honor Society. As crazy as this is, because he was not a goody two-shoes, he got zero jugs throughout his entire high school career. In addition, Dominic was very proud of his membership in BASE (Black Awareness Society for Education) and worked diligently in and for this group.

"Over 2,000 people came to pay their respects at his funeral. Literally, from all walks of life. There were of course doctors as he was one, lawyers, professors, pharmacists, priests, coaches, teachers, and every other type of professional, all the way to drug dealers, convicted felons, thugs and everyone in between. There was every race, religion, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic background, color, age, you name it, they were there, because Dominic saw only human beings and only sought kindness in people's souls. We had such a difficult time choosing pallbearers because literally a hundred guys consider him their best friend and he thinks of them as his best friend too. As it turned out we had more pallbearers than the typical amount. So, without question, his legacy can be answered in one word—diversity!"

Thank you, Laura and David, for creating this special scholarship in honor of Dominic to support future generations of students at The High. We are grateful. To learn how you can make a legacy gift, please contact Jenny Miller P'20, P'22 at 313-927-2335 or jennifer.miller@uofdjesuit.org.

Personal Estate Planning Kit Request Form

Please provide the following information to view the materials for planning your estate.

First name is required
Last Name is required
Please include an '@' in the email address

eBrochure Request Form

Please provide the following information to view the brochure.

First name is required
Last Name is required
Please include an '@' in the email address