Crash kills Riverview High School teacher

Jim Noonan's wife, Karen, is in fair condition after their Corvette goes airborne and flips over. He taught physical science and was a youth sports coach.

By JAY CRIDLIN
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 20, 2003

RIVERVIEW -- In many ways, Jim Noonan was already a teacher by the time he became a professional educator.

He coached youth sports. He volunteered at his sons' schools, reading books to classes. He even hoped to teach kids to draw cartoons, a hobby of his.

Tuesday night, less than a year after joining the faculty of Riverview High School, Noonan was killed in a car crash in Riverview. He was 44.

Police said Jim and his wife, Karen Noonan, 47, were heading west on Rhodine Road west of Balm Riverview Road. Karen Noonan, who was driving, attempted to pass a truck "at a high rate of speed," according to police. She lost control, police said, and the car, a 1992 Corvette convertible, became airborne, flipped over and went into a ditch.

Jim Noonan was pronounced dead at the scene. Karen Noonan was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where she was listed in fair condition Wednesday evening. Both were wearing seatbelts.

This was Noonan's first year teaching physical science at Riverview High.

Classes there operated normally Wednesday, said principal Robert Heilmann, though crisis counselors were made available to students. Students in one of Noonan's courses who were scheduled to take an exam were met by Heilmann and several guidance counselors, who relayed the news.

"They agreed as a group, 'Mr. Noonan would want us to take this test today,' " he said.

An Ohio native, Noonan graduated from Ohio State University in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He was a sales manager for the next 13 years at companies in Tampa and St. Petersburg, including two chemical companies.

In 1999, he began substitute teaching at King and Blake high schools, and in February 1999 landed a permanent job at King. He obtained an alternative teaching certification in 2000, and worked briefly at Wharton High before landing the job at Riverview in March 2002.

While no memorial service for Noonan has been set at the school, Heilmann said teachers had already raised several hundred dollars to buy food for the family.

"We take care of our own," he said. "I know our kids will be there, and I know our kids will do something. There's no doubt in my mind."

The Noonans have two sons, one of whom, Josh, is a sophomore at Riverview High School.

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