Paul Marion ’76, ’05 and Rosemary Noon Donate Funds and Historical Collection for Preservation
04/14/2025
By Karen Angelo
Where some see clutter, others see history.
Paul Marion ’76, ’05 and Rosemary Noon, who have deep ancestral roots in Lowell, recently donated a treasure trove of artifacts to the Center for Lowell History, which is part of the UMass Lowell Library.
“If you think of your own experience with a museum mindset, you tend to see personal photos, objects and stories that can have universal meaning,” says Marion, whose ties to Lowell date back to 1880 when his great-great-grandparents migrated to Lowell from Quebec. “We wanted our collection to be preserved so that students and the community, today and in the future, can understand the stories of the people who made Lowell what it is today – a vibrant urban cultural center with national significance.”
The couple’s collection provides a glimpse into the cultural heritage of Lowell’s transformation within the last five decades. Fifty-five boxes contain Marion’s journals, notebooks, typescripts, edited manuscripts and Loom Press books and papers, many of which were authored by UMass Lowell faculty and staff. Artifacts include artwork from the 1800s, correspondence with celebrated writer and Lowell native Jack Kerouac, posters, photographs and more. Marion and Noon also donated funds for career-connected experiences that pay students to catalog and archive the materials.
“Paul and Rosemary’s gift provides students a job to help get them through school, while the archival work the students complete makes the collections more accessible to researchers and the general public for years to come,” says Head Archivist Anthony Sampas of the UMass Lowell University Library’s Center for Lowell History.
Master of Business student Arundhati Prasanth was drawn to work at the Center for Lowell History because she recognizes the importance of preserving records for institutional memory.
“This role offers a great opportunity to develop my data management and research skills while contributing to something valuable,” says Prasanth. “Paul and Rosemary’s generosity creates opportunities for students like me to learn more about Lowell’s culture while also gaining hands-on experience in research. It’s inspiring to see alumni and donors investing in the university’s future and its students.”
“I was always aware of the glasses, books and trunks left in the attic by previous residents and am grateful that it was all saved,” says Noon, who has served as first director of the Lowell Office of Cultural Affairs and assistant director of the Lowell Plan Inc.
The gem of those artifacts found in the attic is a collection of watercolor paintings that Noon donated to the Center for Lowell History. As a member of the Lowell Cemetery Board, she researched history about the artist, Chester Morill Runels, who is buried in the Lowell Cemetery, and found that he had graduated from MIT in 1915 with an architectural engineering degree.
Another collection donated by Noon was the work of her mother, Mary Foley Noon, who was an advocate of the Ethnic Covenant. In the 1980s, the group pressed for safe, clean and affordable housing for Lowell residents.
Computer science master’s student Svar Rajankumar Patel, who is currently organizing, cataloging, and describing materials in the collection related to the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission, has always been fascinated by history.
“Now I know where all of the information in books and on the internet comes from and how we verify its accuracy,” says Patel. “I am thankful for Paul and Rosemary for preserving history and believe that their donation is going toward a great cause that will benefit the people of Lowell for a long time.”
A Common Love of History Unites
Marion and Noon met in the 1980s when they were involved in the establishment of Lowell National Historical Park, the first urban national park in the nation dedicated to industrial history. Marion worked as an administrator of the Department of the Interior; Noon worked as the assistant director of cultural affairs for the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission.
For more than 50 years, the couple has engaged with community members to reinvent Lowell through historic preservation, education and the arts. Marion, a cofounder of the Lowell Folk Festival and the Lowell Heritage Partnership, is a prolific author, poet and publisher. He earned degrees in political science and community social psychology from UMass Lowell and worked at the university for more than 20 years as a writer and editor and, later, as executive director of community and cultural affairs.
The couple has retired and moved to Amesbury, Massachusetts; however, they both remain active in the local area. Noon serves on the boards of the Lowell Cemetery and Pollard Memorial Library Foundation in Lowell. Marion has writing, editing and publishing projects in progress; his most recent book release, “Portraits Along the Way,” includes short stories about people such as Maya Angelou, Tony Conigliaro, Johnny Depp and dozens of others.
“I’ve found gold in people’s life stories,” says Marion in the book’s introduction. “From a revealing moment to a broad narrative, I’ve documented an assortment of individuals since I began keeping a notebook.”