Noel Wentworth Kane

Noel Wentworth Kane 1941 – 2021 HARPSWELL – Noel Wentworth Kane of Harpswell and Washington, DC passed away on Sept. 10 after a brief stay at Midcoast Hospital, with his wife of 56 years, Betty Ann Kane, at his side. He was 80. While the Capitol Hill community in Washington has been the Kane’s family center and professional and political base for 54 years, Noel was fortunate to live out the pandemic and his last year in a place he loved equally well—looking out at Harpswell Sound from the property on Harpswell Neck first brought by his grandfather Jacob Marcus Salomon in 1926 and the area first visited by his grandmother Lena Towle Salomon, from Lewiston, as a child in the 1880s. Lena’s memoir of the Harpswell cottages is in the Harpswell Historical Society collection. Noel’s first year in Harpswell was at the end of World War II, at age 4, and he spent part of almost every summer there since. Noel was born on July 6, 1941 to Leonard and Marguerite Salomon Kane in New Rochelle, N.Y. and grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y.. He and Betty Ann (Elizabeth) Cooper met at the freshman mixer their first week at Middlebury College and married in 1965. After graduation Noel taught English for three years at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut before moving the family to Washington to attend Georgetown Law School. After receiving his law degree in 1970 Noel was an attorney in the consumer protection division of the Federal Trade Commission for eight years. He started his own law practice in 1980 and helped hundreds of individuals and families with domestic and probate matters and served beyond the call of duty as a careful and honest court appointed guardian and conservator for his wards until his retirement in 2017. He served as moderator of All Souls Church Unitarian, as a member of the DC Democratic State Committee, as president and a founding member of the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals, and as an advisor and supporter for Betty Ann’s successful political campaigns for the DC Board of Education and DC City Council. Noel will be remembered for his sardonic wit, his deep knowledge and interest in American presidential history, his love of rock music, including seeing the Pogues and U2 in his 70s, and his stubborn refusal to give up his loyalty to the New York Yankees in the face of all his New England relatives. In addition to Betty Ann, Noel leaves behind daughter Jessica Towle Naipier-Kane of Brunswick, son Justin Wentworth Kane of Washington, DC; and three grandsons, Lancelot Naipier-Kane of Washington, DC, Maximillian Naipier-Kane and wife Annaleise Conner of Omaha, Neb. and Jeffrey Naipier-Kane of Brunswick; and son-in-law Jack Naipier-Kane of London, England. He also leaves cousins, as close as brothers and sisters, Frances Whitney Townsend and husband Jim of Richmond, Brian Murphy and wife Marvera of Franklin, N.H. and Brandon, Fla., Stephen Towle Murphy of Sarasota, Fla., Craig Noel Salomon of Exeter, N.H., Tyler Chase Robinson and wife Susan of Dover, N.H.; and many other relatives and friends. The family would like to thank the staff of Horizons Living and Rehab Center for their care and patience and the staff of CHANS who helped make Noel’s last year comfortable, including Jenna Sullivan, Holly White, Kim Ruby and Suzanne Cavallieri, and also Erika Lemont of Horizons who bribed him with ham and cheese sandwiches and bowls of ice cream. We also thank the Harpswell Neck Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department for their outstanding service. A memorial service is planned for April at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington with inurnment at Congressional Cemetery. A family and local friends gathering will also be held at the Kane’s Harpswell residence in June 2022. Memories and condolences can be shared at http://www.brackettfh.com. Noel attended Birch Rock as a teenager and the non-profit camp has provided a wonderful experience for many years for all three Kane grandsons as well as hundreds of other boys who were fortunate to attend. Memorial donations may be made in Noel’s name to the scholarship fund of Birch Rock Camp for Boys in South Waterford Maine 15 Skyline Road South Portland, ME 04106