Funeral services for Noelle will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, February 24, 2020 at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Lemmon, SD. Pastor Bruce Foster will officiate with burial in the Greenhill Cemetery at Lemmon. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 23, 2020 at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon.

Noelle Joreen Umback was born on December 20, 1969, in Lemmon, South Dakota.  She graduated as salutatorian from Lemmon High School with honors in 1988, received her BS in Professional Chemistry from South Dakota State University (SDSU) in 1992, and earned her PhD from Colorado State University in Inorganic Chemistry in 2000.  When asked about her proudest accomplishments, she noted academics.  Her dissertation was entitled "Indirect Determination of the Rate of Iron Uptake into E. coli Ribonucleotide Reductase R2 by Competition with Ferrozine".

After completing additional doctoral work at Columbia University, she began working at the New York City Medical Examiner's office in May 2000, and served as an Adjunct Professor for NYU until she passed.    Since 2006, she has served as the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Supervisor for New York City at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's (OCME) in New York City.

Her profession was a large part of her identity, and she was very active in various professional organizations, including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Criminalistics Section (recently serving as the Secretary, and previously as Commissioner and an Inspector on the Forensic Education Accreditation Program Board (FEPAC).  She was also active in the American Chemical Society (Division of Chemistry and the Law), the American Society of Crime Lab Directors, and the North Eastern Association of Forensic Scientists.  Her work included providing Expert Testimony in Forensic Biology and DNA Testing in NY Grand Juries and NY Supreme Court cases.

Noelle worked on the American Airlines Flight 587 and the World Trade Center DNA Identification Teams from September 2001 to March 2004 and was proud to have contributed to providing closure for families who lost loved ones in 9-11.  Sadly, exposure to Ground Zero and/or tissue samples from 9-11 may have contributed to her metastatic breast cancer diagnosis.

Noelle frequently had speaking engagements, addressing and educating a wide array of audiences about forensics, including high school and college students, fellow colleagues, The National Youth Science Camp, detectives, and attorneys.  She enjoyed sharing her passion for all things forensic.

Among Noelle's interests and passions throughout her life were softball, cats, reading, cooking, knitting, shooting sports (NRA Life Member and long-time target shooter in high school and college) and cheering on the Minnesota Twins and Vikings.  She enjoyed attending musical events and Broadway shows after making NYC her permanent home.

Noelle's family is humbled and honored by the outpouring of love and support from her friends and colleagues from across the country.  We hear repeatedly how Noelle was much-loved, kind, genuine, well-respected, and a patient teacher and mentor.

Noelle passed away at her home in Brooklyn on Saturday evening, February 15, 2020.

She was preceded in death by grandparents Charles and Cathryn (Haseltine) Umback, William and Alvera (Lindquist) Huber, and brother Kent Hertz. Noelle is survived by her parents Charles "Russell" and Jeanette (Huber) Umback, sisters Erica Umback and Lara (Umback) Riis, nephews Tristen Agar and Otto Riis, nieces Lauren Riis and Kasandra Hertz, and aunt Patricia Huber.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be sent to the Noelle Umback Forensic Fund Endowment at South Dakota State University.

Donations can be sent to www.sdstatefoundation.org (choose Other option), or checks may be made payable to the SDSU Foundation and mailed to the following address:

SDSU Foundation

Lohr Building

815 Medary Ave

Brookings, SD 57006