Deceased January 8, 2014
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In Memory
In June 1942 Ed Ney turned 17 and entered Amherst College's World War II speed-up program. The second-youngest member of the class, he enlisted in the Navy Officers' V-12 training program in the spring of 1943 and was sent to Williams College with a few hundred other Amherst men.
At Williams he shared a suite with seven Amherst men, six of whom were fellow Psi U's. During that time we started to call him Noonan, his middle name. Noonan served three years as an officer in the Naval Air Corps, returning to Amherst after the war for two semesters, residing in the Psi U house with Seaver, Ehrgood and Diefendorf. Senior year he became editor of The Student.
Following graduation he worked for the advertising company BBDO in its mailroom. From there he traveled south on Madison Avenue to start his career with Young & Rubicam, rising to the presidency. He became one of the most well-known and highly respected people in the advertising business and was named to the Advertising Hall of Fame.
His loyalty to his alma mater led to Noonan's establishing and funding a professorship in American Institutions whose chair has been very ably held by Professor Hadley Arkes. He also served our college as a trustee with distinction and has been a life trustee since 1989.
A multifaceted man, Noonan was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as ambassador to Canada, our country's largest trading partner, and his ambassadorship was our country's most important one. I remember an extended stay at the ambassador's residence with other Amherst friends (Seaver, Newman, Ehrgood and Diefendorf)--the old gang once again reconvened.
Noonan is survived by his wife, Patricia Murray Wood; three children from a previous marriage: Nicholas Hayes Ney, Hilary St. Clair Ney and Michelle Kilduff; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
I could write a book about my friend Noonan. He was a one-of-a-kind who had a wide variety of accomplishments.
Moe Diefendorf '46