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Celebrating the life of

Noma Lee Goodwin Alexander

October 11, 2019 - November 25, 2019

Noma Lee Goodwin Alexander

Noma Lee Goodwin Alexander passed away on November 25, 2019, in Savannah, Georgia. She was 100 years old.

Lee, as she was known to most friends and relations, was born in Durham, North Carolina, on October 11, 1919, to Leander C. and Noma Lee Brinkley Goodwin. The first in her family to attend college, she received her B.A. and M.A. in English from Duke University, from which she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She was one of Armstrong Junior College’s (later Armstrong Atlantic University’s) first faculty members. Some of her happiest memories were her work as an English professor and advisor to the drama club at Armstrong.

Lee had a distinguished career as an archivist, first at Duke University and later at the Atlanta Historical Society (now the Atlanta History Center). She retired in 1984 from the Trevor Arnett Library at the Atlanta University Center, where she oversaw cataloging of the Center’s extensive black history manuscript collection. She was a charter member of the Society of Georgia Archivists and volunteered her cataloging expertise at the Georgia Historical Society and at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah. She was also active in the Savannah chapter of the American Association of University Women for many years and took an active role in organizing their annual book sale. She was a longtime member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah and served there in a variety of ways in addition to being church archivist.

Lee’s questing spirit and love of life and particularly the natural world led her into many adventures after her retirement as an archivist, including hiking trips on glacial moraines in Alaska, walks through fields inhabited by Galapagos tortoises in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, viewing big cats and elephants in reserves in South Africa, whitewater rafting in the mountains of North Carolina, and sailing up the Intracoastal Waterway. She was physically active her whole life, could ride and shoot, and was a fine dancer and lifelong appreciator of the ballet. She was an outdoor enthusiast and a dedicated walker almost until the end of her life. She was fascinated by clouds and meteorological phenomena and her gaze was often directed toward the sky.

She campaigned tirelessly for social and environmental justice as well. As recently as 2014, she joined a trip to Atlanta to participate in Federal hearings regarding maintaining the strength of the Clean Air Act. She was also an energetic advocate for racial justice in Savannah and contributed to the effort to establish the River Street African-American Monument to enslaved persons.

Her leisure time was spent listening to jazz, going to the theater, and attending concerts and performances. She was for many years a proud supporter of the Coastal Jazz Association and attended their concerts regularly. Especially close to her heart, though, was the music of Ben Tucker, which she listened to through many happy nights at Tucker’s club Hard Hearted Hannah’s and later at other venues.

She is survived by two daughters, Lee Danielle and Susan Eleanor (Carl), and a host of extended family members and loving friends. She was predeceased by her husband, Daniel Baldwin Alexander, and her parents, Leander C. and Noma Lee Brinkley Goodwin.

A memorial celebration of Lee’s life will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah, 311 E. Harris Street, on Saturday, December 7, at 2:30 PM. Remembrances in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Best Friends Animal Society.

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Thinking of Lee’s family as we celebrate her extraordinary life. How many lives she must have influenced. Joan Wade

- Joan Wade, Savannah, Ga

I am so sorry for the loss. She was a kind and beautiful person but you were also a fighter. I remember you were reading in the library and I walked by with my flower top and u said You loved the shirt and that day I went and got you two flower tops and my kids loved ya they called you grandma. You now are going to be a special angel may you rest in peace

- Jessica Takenaka, Savannah, Ga

Thinking of Lee’s family as we celebrate her extraordinary life. How many lives she must have influenced. Joan Wade

- Joan Wade, Savannah, Ga

I am so sorry for the loss. She was a kind and beautiful person but you were also a fighter. I remember you were reading in the library and I walked by with my flower top and u said You loved the shirt and that day I went and got you two flower tops and my kids loved ya they called you grandma. You now are going to be a special angel may you rest in peace

- Jessica Takenaka, Savannah, Ga

Services under the direction of:

Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel
912-352-7200