Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Sen. Jeff Sessions

Mr. President, I was saddened over the holidays to learn of the death of a good man and friend, Judge Lionel ``Red'' Noonan of Mobile, AL, at the age of 86. Judge Noonan was a wonderful man. He knew it was all about service to others, and the courtesy, ease, and empathy he displayed to all he came upon was noticed and appreciated and remembered. Many think good politicians are the smooth folks, always ready with the right words, always thinking, always plotting, but Judge Noonan was a great politician because he served his constituents with grace and it came back to him in respect and in votes.

As a practicing lawyer in probate court, he always treated me the way he treated everyone. I was a rock-ribbed young Republican and he a loyal Democrat, yet I couldn't have been more fairly treated by him. I had always heard, from my Republican friends, what a good man he was. As I have gotten older, I have come to see that in a place such as Mobile, where people really know one another, those who have good reputations are invariably good people. Judge Noonan's good reputation was justly earned over a lifetime of honest dealing.

The Republicans were always hoping that he would switch parties and join them. That is in itself a high compliment to be courted by two parties. But to the Democrats he remained true.

Judge Noonan retired in 2001 after serving 18 years as the Mobile County probate judge. Prior to that he had served 8 years in the Alabama State Senate and was a 4-year starting fullback for the Alabama Crimson Tide after World War II.

He and his wonderful wife Ruby have been a fine team. They have always been active politically for causes they believed in in the classical sense of the American ideal of good government and what is good for America. Of course, there is the sausage making part of politics. Sometimes, it is not all cookies and cream. Politics can be tough. Yet, for Ruby and Red, it was always about what would make Mobile, AL, and America a better place, and I have always admired that in them.

His wife Ruby has lost a great partner, his children, Ruth, Kelly, and Lionel, Junior, a great father and mentor, and Mobile, one of the best loved citizens to ever have walked the streets.