Mark Edward Noennig

Mark Edward Noennig was born on Nov. 19, 1947, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Herb and Edna Noennig. He spent his childhood under the Rims with the neighborhood kids, attending Eastern Elementary, Trinity Lutheran School and Lincoln Junior High. He graduated from Billings Senior High in 1966, where he was the president of his class. He received a BS in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering from Montana State University in 1970. Upon graduation, he worked with Chevron Oil Company in San Francisco. After three years, he decided he didn’t like either engineering or California. So he packed up his Triumph convertible and headed back to Montana. He was “gracefully unemployed” for a year before he decided to go to law school at U of M, where he received his JD in 1978. Soon after, he began his law career at Hendrickson & Bishop (later Hendrickson Law Firm), where he practiced up until the time of his death. He dearly loved the law, his partners, and his clients.

Pain in Mark’s back plagued him for many years starting in junior high school. He so wanted to play sports like his brothers, Jim and Dan, but the pain was usually more than he could bear. In 1996, he was finally diagnosed with Scheurman’s disease and went to Minneapolis for a 13-hour operation to correct the curvature of his spine. Six months of intensive recovery followed. When he was finally able to golf, he was so excited that he didn’t even care how he did — and while he had to take a lot of practice swings, when he connected, it would go!! Unfortunately, over time his back and nerve pain worsened, and he endured five more surgeries. He was the bravest of men.

He met Sharon Grubbs in 1984 when she was hired by his firm, and they worked side by side for 32 years. What began as a fun friendship blossomed into a 38-year relationship. They skied, golfed, traveled, entertained, and built two homes together. They were rarely apart and loved spending time at their timeshare in Whitefish. He helped raise Sharon’s children, and the real loves of Mark’s life were his grandchildren. He heaped all of his love on them, often proclaiming “they are the only kids I’ll ever have!” He became “Bumpa” to the whole family and beamed hearing that name. Sharon and Mark surprised everyone by finally marrying on Dec. 31, 2012.

Mark was a quiet man who loved finding solutions to problems and talking politics with his friends. He jumped into politics himself in 2009 when he ran for the Montana State Legislature. He and Sharon spent many hours knocking on doors and it paid off. He served two terms in the Montana House of Representatives, meeting lifelong friends and deepening his understanding of state government. He was elated to serve his constituents but frequently dismayed by the partisanship. After leaving the legislature, Mark continued to serve his community and state as the President of the Montana Board of Investments, Board President of the Family Tree, and Steering Committee member for the Yellowstone County Family Drug Court.

Mark was good, kind and honest, living his life by the Golden Rule. He is preceded in death by his parents, and his brother, Jim Noennig. He is survived by his wife, Sharon Grubbs; stepchildren Jason Grubbs (Perrin) of Billings, Tennys Enders and Whitney Grubbs (Cris Moss), all of Portland, Oregon; his sister, Linda Geiger, of Lakewood, Colorado; brother, Dan Noennig of Tucson, Arizona; and brother, Russ Noennig (Evelyn) and sister-in-law Karina Noennig, all of Billings. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren, Henry Enders, Zora Enders, Max Moss, Ava Grubbs, Zoe Grubbs, and Hazel Moss and by many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews whom he followed closely.

Memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8, at King of Glory Lutheran Church, 4125 Grand Ave.

Should friends desire, donations may be made in Mark’s memory to the Family Tree Nurturing Center, 2520 5th Ave. S., Billings MT 59101, or to the charity of your choice