Dr. R. Joe Noble

Dr. R. Joe Noble, 87, of Carmel, Indiana was born August 17, 1938, to Mina Minerva (Waymire) Noble and Mark Harlan Noble in Elwood, Indiana. He passed away on March 14, 2026, in his home.

Joe’s life was based on his love of God, family and medicine. As with every discipline in life, Joe studied the reality of God vs. evolution, even teaching a course on the subject. The validity of the scriptures was his solid conviction. Joe shared this with his family. He took every opportunity to love, inspire and challenge his children and grandchildren to live their Christian faith.

Family was paramount in Joe’s life. He was devoted to his beloved wife Susan. Together they enjoyed travel, tennis, snow skiing in Vail, where they lived, near their son, for many years after retirement, and water skiing and gardening at Upper Merecombe, his favorite place in the world on Lake Tippecanoe. His father, Mark, built a cottage on the lake when Joe was a boy, and his grandmother visited the lake, representing the oldest generation. This past year, Joe enjoyed watching his great-granddaughter, the sixth generation in his family line follow in his footsteps of summering at the lake.

Joe’s academic career included graduating Summa Cum Laude from Depauw University (Phi Beta Kappa). He was named valedictorian of Indiana University School of Medicine. Following his internship at Emory University School of Medicine, he completed his residency at IU, where he was named chief resident in 1967. He completed his fellowship back at Emory under Dr. J. Willis Hurst. Joe served in the military as a Major, USAF and Chief of Internal Medicine at Tinker Air Force base in Oklahoma, then returned to Indianapolis to begin his career as an academic cardiologist.

Joe was a beloved teacher, making complex medicine simple. He was awarded Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Professor multiple years. His students awarded him with the Golden Apple Award four times at IU. His students in an early class even honored him by establishing an endowed fund, the Class of 1976 R. Joe Noble Scholarship. He was a master teacher, and his course on taking the boards was ranked #1. He was a prolific writer of academic cardiology, publishing over 300 papers and books in his bibliography. Educating cardiology fellows was his area of expertise. His annual cardiology course for primary care doctors and his presentations at national cardiology meetings were standing room only.

Caring for patients was Joe’s favorite part of medicine. This led him to join Northside Cardiology, where he served as a master clinician for nearly 40 years. During both his academic and clinical time, Joe served on many state and national committees, as well as editorial boards. These include Chairman, Committee on Cardiovascular Norms, ACC; Core Curriculum, Scientific Sessions, ACC; Governor, State of Indiana, ACC; Chairman, Board of Governors, ACC; ACC Bi-Annual Board Review, Program Director; Board of Trustees, ACC; Editorial Board, ACCEL; Executive Committee and Co-Chairman, Scientific Sessions, ACC; Associate editor, ACC Current Journal; and ACCSAP Board Review question writer, ACC. He ran the Board Review for the Cardiology Boards at IU, and it was highly recognized. Still, more important than any award or recognition was his love of treating patients. He often started rounds at 5:30 am and saw a record number of patients most days. He would always look for the reasons behind the symptoms and could decide what to do for a complex patient very quickly. A highlight of his week was visiting his hometown of Elwood to provide care, as well as Greencastle.

Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Susan Luree (Flightner) Noble of Carmel; daughter, Sarah (Scott) Hoffacker of Fort Wayne; son Nathan (Paige) Noble of Westfield; grandchildren, Chloe (Ryan) Anthony of Plano and Clayton (Kreigh Elzey) Hoffacker of Fort Wayne; and great-granddaughter, Estee Elzey Hoffacker. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Dr. Larry Noble, PhD. of Los Angeles. His family is comforted to know Joe was welcomed home by the Lord.

A memorial service will be held at College Park Church 2606 W 96th St, Indianapolis, IN 46268 on Monday March 23rd at 11 AM. A livestream of the service will be available here. In lieu of flowers,donations in Joe's memory may be made to Samaritan’s Purse or College Park Church.