Noel Jr., born in 1946, and daughter, Angela Noel, born in 1950. Buddy graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard University Law, and practices as a lawyer in Denver. Rachel Bassette Noel became increasingly active in civil rights and school issues in Denver. (See below). Her husband Edmond Noel died in 1986. In her last years, Noel moved from Denver to Oakland, California in 2007 to live with her daughter. Noel died on February 4, 2008. She is survived by her two children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Civic life Noel became active in civic affairs and politics in the 1960s, working to integrate local schools and ensure that minorities had equal opportunities. In 1965, Noel was elected as the first African American to serve on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. She was the first African-American woman elected to public office in Colorado. She presented what became known as the Noel Resolution to the Board of Education on April 25, 1968, and called for the Denver area school district superintendent to develop a plan for integration, providing equal educational opportunity for all children. Public opposition was high, and Noel and her family received many threatening phone calls and hate mail. The resolution was passed in February 1970. Noel was a professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver, where she founded the African-American Studies Department in 1971, chairing it until 1980. Noel was also a member of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee for the Health Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Colorado at Denver. She was appointed as a Commissioner of the Denver Housing Authority Noel served on the Advisory Board of the United States Civil Rights Commission. Legacy and honors She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree by the University of Denver. In 1976 she was appointed by Governor Richard Lamm to serve on the University of Colorado Board of Regents; in 1978 she was elected statewide to a six-year term on the board, and served as chair of the board for one year. The Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Professorship was endowed in her honor in 1981 at Metropolitan State College of Denver. A visiting professor is named each year; Noel Professors have included Princeton professor Cornel West, international philanthropist Julius Coles, pianist Billy Taylor, author Iyanla Vanzant, Johnnetta B. Cole, former president of Spelman College; jazz singer Dianne Reeves; Ossie Davis,