THE FAMILY of a former Bradford man have paid tribute to him after his death in Canada, to where he emigrated.

Graham Noble was born in Bradford and went on to become a hairdresser in the city, a member of staff for Grattan and a financial advisor for Prudential Assurance.

He emigrated with his family to Canada in 1979 and after his retirement lived in Saskatchewan until his death at the end of January.

Graham, who was styled The Lord of Kelby, was born in Bradford in July 1943, to Edith and Arthur Noble. He started his school years at Howarth Road, Daisy Hill, followed by Bellevue and then when his parents moved to Leeds, finished school in Roundhay in 1959.

On their return to Bradford his parents owned a corner shop in Wyke. He became a gents hairdresser after leaving school and worked in Leeds.

He had 10 cousins and on a weekend they would all get together with their girlfriends and have a good time going to pubs.

He met Sharon in April 1963 and they got married in September 1964. Graham bought a corner store on Barkerend Road and Sharon looked after the shop.

Their son Colin was born in 1965 and they lived in Bradford until they emigrated to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1966 to run his own barber shop.

Unfortunately, due to the sudden death of his father Arthur in 1969, Graham decided to go back to Bradford to help his mum look after the business.

They arrived back in the UK in 1970 and, while Graham worked at Grattan warehouses, their son Michael was born. Edith sold the shop and Graham moved his family to live in the Isle of Man.

He bought an abandoned cottage and modernised it. They lived there and Graham had a hairdressing business in Peel. He decided in 1976 that he would like to go back to Canada but, as it was difficult to emigrate from the Isle of Man, he moved the family back to Bradford, where he went to work for the Prudential Assurance Company as a financial consultant.

In 1979 he returned to Canada and settled in Kamloops where he established a successful company for Prudential and helped many people plan for their retirement.

In July 1999 he retired and he and Sharon moved to Canora, Saskatchewan, where he could enjoy small town living. But unable to be idle there, they went into the property management business looking after 30 houses and four overnight cottages.

Always a world traveller, with a continual desire to expand his mind, they travelled extensively across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, including visiting China, Korea, Cyprus, and Spain, returning many times to Bradford.

Graham died on Saturday, January 26, at the age of 75 in Yorkton Hospital, Saskatchewan, and he will be lovingly missed by his widow Sharon, two sons Colin (Dianne) and Michael and his grandchildren, Blake, Kent and Laura.

Graham was predeceased by his parents Arthur and Edith Noble, his brother Kevin Noble, and his grandson Alex.

He was described in his death notice as "a kind man always in the service of others, he will be dearly missed".

His widow Sharon said she would love to hear of any memories of Graham from his friends back in Bradford. She can be contacted at sharonnoble@sasktel.net.