A small chapel in San Francisco was bursting at the seams last month with friends, family and colleagues paying their final respects to Wendy Noll-Oliveira, best known in the commercialmaking community as Wendy Noll. A noted ad agency producer, Noll was a mainstay at Young & Rubicam, first in New York and then in its San Francisco office.
Noll, who was 55, lost her battle with cancer on Palm Sunday, March 20. A memorial service was held three days later in San Francisco’s St. Cecilias chapel, followed by a reception at her house. The get-together was described by friends as being “a party” of which Noll would have been most proud.
Just last week, an East Coast memorial service was held at the Larchmont Yacht Club in Larchmont, N.Y. Noll’s compatriots, friends and family turned out for a celebration of her life.
Noll started her career in the traffic department at Young & Rubicam, New York, straight out of college in 1971. She eventually became a producer there and was a fixture at the New York ad shop until ’88, when she shifted over to Y&R, San Francisco. Noll stayed at the San Francisco agency ’til ’02. Her exploits as an agency producer took her all over the world, including Czechoslovakia, New Zealand and Australia.
“Wendy’s professional skills were tremendous. She was committed to doing a great job and making the best work she possibly could,” said Texas East, a partner in The East and Landgraf Group, who worked with Noll at Y&R, New York. “But what Wendy’s life was most about was life itself. What struck me most at the memorial service [in Larchmont] was that of the ten people who stood up and spoke, six described themselves as ‘Wendy’s best friend. That says it all. She had a deep compassion for people in need, had a wonderful sense of humor, was incredibly generous and personified the term ‘great friend.'”
Noll is survived by her husband, Kenneth Oliveira, her stepson, Cameron Shay Oliveira, and her mother, Ann Linderman Noll, all of San Francisco. From the spotmaking community and her sailing days in Larchmont, Wendy Noll assembled a large extended family, as well.
This extended family is reflected on a Web site dedicated to her memory–http://wendy.wyomingfilms.net/
The site contains photos chronicling her life, and remembrances from friends, family and collaborators. Perhaps most telling is the site’s guest book, which contains tributes to her professionally and personally.
Yet even the professional testaments are punctuated with references to Noll’s kindness, caring, spunk and sense of fun–and her grace and courage in confronting challenging times, including her struggle with cancer. Also prevalent in this mix of reflections and observations is her husband, who is described as being Wendy’s soul mate–and how fortunate each felt to have found the other.
An anonymous guest wrote of the kindness Noll extended to her. She recalled, “When I was barely pregnant, on bed rest, Wendy showed up at my house, goaded my husband into helping her carry me upstairs because I would be happier in my own bed, and commandeered my kitchen to make three huge chicken pot pies. She waited on my for days, dismissing any gratitude by saying it was payback for cooking for her during chemo. Because of her, I have a daughter.”
In lieu of flowers, the Noll family has requested donations to Planned Parenthood be made in honor of Wendy Noll.
