Alvin H. "Bud" Noble, a retired Baltimore City public school teacher who bought tennis shoes for poor pupils so they could take his physical education classes without difficulty, died of an apparent heart attack Wednesday at his Towson home. He was 81.
Born in Chicago, Mr. Noble earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's in education from the University of Illinois, the latter in 1949. He moved to Baltimore after teaching anatomy at the university for a year.
He took a job in 1951 teaching physical education at what was then Robert Poole Junior High, and retired from the school in Hampden in 1977. For most of his career, he was head of the physical education department, and he also handled the school's finances and organized assemblies.
His greatest satisfaction came from helping children who were having trouble, said a son, Thomas H. Noble of Cockeysville. Aware that his pupils' families were struggling to get by, Mr. Noble collected racks of tennis shoes and gave a pair to any child in need.
"A lot of times, the parents didn't have any money to get them tennis shoes," said his son.
In the summer and on Sundays during the school year, Mr. Noble also worked as a delivery manager for what became the Baltimore News American, rising before dawn to handle complaints. He held that job for about 15 years, until the mid-1960s.
An athletic man who played semiprofessional baseball in college, he loved to fish and sail in his free time. He also made stained glass.
He was a member of the Hunt Valley Knights of Columbus and led the group as its Grand Knight in the 1970s.
Mr. Noble served in the Army from 1940 to 1946, most of that time stationed in California, where he met and married Mary Alma Chlan, a nurse from Baltimore. She died in 1999.
A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. today at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, at Church Lane and York Road in the Cockeysville community of Texas.
Mr. Noble also is survived by two other sons, Robert L. Noble of Parkton and John C. Noble of Columbia; eight grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 3120 Timanus Lane, Suite 106, Baltimore 21244, or the American Cancer Society, 8219 Town Center Drive, Baltimore 21236.