Addison man shared his vast knowledge and deep passion for classical music with all who crossed his path With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of Frederick William Noonan on January 15, 2025, at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, after a series of strokes. Frederick lived a full, international life, sharing his vast knowledge and deep passion for classical music with all who crossed his path. His wit, generosity and infectious joie de vivre left an indelible mark on all he encountered. He will be deeply missed. Born in Middlebury on June 13, 1941, he grew up in Addison on his family’s dairy farm. He loved music and books from an early age and often read novels while doing his field work. He enjoyed telling the story of how he once drove the tractor into a ditch but finished the chapter he was reading before walking to the barn to get help. It’s hard to imagine now, but he and his sister, Ellen, used to drive the cows along Route 22A to their summer pasture. During one summer, he and Ellen painted the house while blasting Beethoven from the open windows, taking turns to run inside and flip the record over. Frederick attended Northfield Mount Hermon School and Amherst College. After graduating, he was drafted into the army and sent to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., where he chose to study German rather than French, he said, “because it has no silent letters.” He spent several years in the Army Intelligence Corps in Germany, where he forged many dear friendships that endured his entire lifetime. His time in Europe sparked a desire to travel and see more of his own country. When he returned to the states, he traveled from the East to West coast and back again, riding the rails and seeking adventure along the way. He remembered one of the railcars carrying Caterpillar excavators, and he spent part of that ride sitting in the seat of a big yellow backhoe. He enrolled as a master’s student in English literature at McGill University. Friends remember his apartment, opposite the library, as a vibrant social hub where people were drawn by the sounds of opera, engaging conversation and the comforting aroma of soup constantly simmering on the stove. Frederick eventually made his way to New York City, taking jobs as a proofreader at Matthew Bender & Co., then as an usher and office worker at Lincoln Center, where he worked his…