Noah Griffin Bicknell

Noah Griffin Bicknell, 32, Bismarck, died September 27, 2020 at Sanford Health, Bismarck from complications of primary sclerosing cholangitis and bile duct cancer. No services or gatherings are planned at this time.

Noah was born in Bismarck, N.D. in 1988, the son of William Boyd Bicknell and Susan Griffin Bicknell. Noah graduated from Bismarck High School in 2006 and continued his education at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Minnesota State University Moorhead. He graduated from MSUM in 2010 with a degree in English.

Noah married Rena Sumimoto on September 30, 2015 in Kawachinagano, Japan. The Bicknells lived in Osaka, Japan where Noah worked as an English conversation teacher instructing all ages. He also served as branch secretary for the General Union in Osaka, Japan, protecting the rights of his fellow teachers.

Prior to moving to Japan to teach, Noah enjoyed tutoring English students at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck.

Noah was ill most of his life, but his strength and perseverance enabled him to complete his education, move to Japan to live and work, and find the person who brought him his greatest joy, Rena, his wife. Her devotion and love gave him comfort and the strength to face each day. Her presence at the end of his life was a gift to Noah and his family. We love you, Rena.

Noah’s understanding of our impermanence enhanced our love for him and the time we had with him. Write this on your wall: "At the end of the day it's all sandcastles and butter statues." (Noah Bicknell, August 2020)

I love you, Noah. Love, Rena.

Noah will be greatly missed by his beloved wife Rena Bicknell, Bismarck; mother Susan Griffin Bicknell, Bismarck; brother Seth Bicknell, Bismarck; father and mother-in-law Takayuki and Yukie Sumimoto, Osaka, Japan; sister-in-law Yuko (Kenichi) Hamada; Shizuoka, Japan; brother-in-law Junya (Yumi) Sumimoto, Saitama, Japan; nephew Akito Hamada; nieces Maho Hamada, and Kyouka Sumimoto, all of Japan; aunts and uncles Stephen Bicknell (Margo Boyd), Holden, ME; Peter Bicknell, Somerset, NJ; Ann Griffin, Readfield, ME; Paul Bicknell, Green Brook, NJ; John Griffin (Jeanette Solak), Readfield, ME; cousins Briana Carey Richards, Thomas Wilson, Jenny Carey, all of Maine; Emily Bicknell and Elizabeth Bicknell, both of New York; and god-parents Chuck and Linda Suchy of Mandan, ND.

Noah was predeceased by his father, William Boyd Bicknell; paternal grandparents Herbert Stephen and Dorothy (Boyd) Bicknell, maternal grandparents David Field and Cecily (Johnson) Griffin; aunt Margaret (Griffin) Wilson; and uncle David John Wilson.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Newfoundland Club of America Charitable Trust – Rescue Fund c/o Mary L. Price, Treasurer. 1004 State Highway 78, Mount Horeb, WI 53572-3044.  Noah loved those big fellas.