GREAT FALLS, Mont.-Former state representative and longtime Montana tire dealer Jerry Noble, 64, died Dec. 23 in his Great Falls home.
A tire industry veteran of more than 40 years, Mr. Noble was a co-owner of Jerry Noble Tire Factory, a dealership he opened in 2000 with his son Chuck and longtime employee Dean Whitmore. Both men will continue to operate the dealership. Mr. Noble also founded Jerry Noble Tires in 1977 and opened outlets in Cut Bank, Havre and Bozeman, Mont., before leaving the company in the late 1990s.
He was a past president of the Montana Tire Dealers Association and a former director of the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association, which later became the Tire Association of North America.
Mr. Noble, a senator from Great Falls, served in the state legislature for four years. In 1992, he decided not to run for re-election in order to devote more time to his business.
In addition, he served in the U.S. Marines from 1954-1957.
Mr. Noble's survivors include daughter Diane Noble of Portland, Ore.; sons Chuck and Ken of Great Falls; his mother, Madella Noble of Great Falls; two sisters, a brother, and four grandchildren.