WHITESVILLE, Ky. — Noble H. Midkiff, 103, of Whitesville, passed away Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, at his home on the same farm where he was born Aug. 30, 1919, to the late Heber and Della Greer Midkiff.
Noble graduated from Fordsville High School in 1937 and attended Western Kentucky State Teachers College. He started teaching in a one-room school house in Magan, in Ohio County, Kentucky, in 1939. He taught at Sorgho from 1941-42.
He married his sweetheart, Ada Tinius Midkiff, of Whitesville, on Dec. 6, 1941. Pearl Harbor was bombed the next day. Noble was drafted and left for the war June 26, 1942. He served in the U. S. Army, 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion, in North Africa and Italy from 1942-1945. He was wounded three times, receiving a Purple Heart and two Oak Leaf Clusters. He returned home July 25, 1945, one day short of 37 months of service. He was overseas for 33 months and 10 days, without seeing his family.
Upon returning home from WWII, he taught one more year at Sorgho. He then returned to Western Kentucky and earned a B.S. degree in agriculture. He received his M. A. and Rank I, also from Western.
He taught Agriculture and was FFA Advisor at Fordsville High School from 1950-1962. He was Principal at Fordsville Elementary and High School from 1962-1970. He retired in 1975, after serving as Federal Coordinator of Ohio County Schools.
In addition to his parents, Noble was preceded in death by his wife, Ada, and his brothers, Valva Midkiff, Lincoln Midkiff, and Jim Greer.
He is survived by his daughters, Rebecca Sue Jackson (Dave), and Jane Hoover Freer (Bill), and his son, James Larry Midkiff (Cathy). He is also survived by his seven grandchildren, David Jackson, Kim Brooks, Amy Sommers, Laura Sheppard, Jason Midkiff, Sarah Roberts, and Aaron Freer; his 10 great-granddaughters; his sisters, Esther Edge McCoy and Markley Freer; and several nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will be held at 11 a. m. Saturday morning, Jan. 28, 2023, at Whitesville Christian Church. Burial will follow at Rosehill Cemetery in Owensboro, Kentucky. Visitation will be Friday, from 2 p.m. until 8 p. m. at Geary Funeral Home in Fordsville, and Saturday from 9 a. m. until the time of the funeral at the church.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Camp Kum-Ba-Ya, the Western Kentucky Campgrounds for the Christian Church in Kentucky. They are going to furnish the camp’s new cabins with furniture, etc., for year-round camping.
To donate: Checks may be written out to Camp Kum- Ba-Ya, P.O. Box 1332, Madisonville, KY 42431 with “Furnishings Fundraiser” in the memo line or GIVE ONLINE: Online donations may be received through Givelify. Go to https://www.givelify.com, search “Camp Kum-Ba-Ya”.
