On September 30, 2022, Kevin Noonan (Senior) was awakened at about 4 am to banging on his door and constant ringing of the doorbell. The police informed him that his son Kevin Jr. was dead, and the cause of death was suicide.  Kevin Sr. now had the gut wrenching task of making calls to share this tragic news with Peg (Kevin Jr's mom), Erin (Kevin Jr's sister), Jen (Kevin Sr's wife) and family and friends. Kevin Sr. had to spend the day traveling to Penn State to be with his deceased son, talking with police, retrieving personal effects and beginning the plans for a funeral.  

Kevin Jr was 22, a senior at Penn State University, majoring in Engineering. Kevin was a popular kid in high school with many friends. He played football from 6 years old to his junior year when he was sidelined with a neck injury. He was also on the track team. Kev was a musician (Sax, Guitar, Drums) and an actor. In college, he struggled with a tough engineering curriculum, he struggled through the pandemic with online classes and not spending time with his friends. He had plans for graduation, being married with a few kids, he imagined a home with a chef's kitchen, continuing his acting and his love for music. His death was a shock to all that knew him.

The Kevin Noonan Jr Foundation was created in memory of the kid that made everyone smile, everyone comfortable, but could not bring himself to ask for the help that he needed. For this reason, we think of a simple thought that we wish Kevin followed - that his death had a profound effect on over 1000 people--he had his parents Kevin and Peg, his sister Erin, step mom Jen, aunts, uncles, classmates, work associates, lots of friends, family of those friends, friends of his parents, and coworkers of his parents... any one of which would have done anything to help us make sure he was with us today. 

Kevin's friends almost immediately began organizing fundraising activities in memory of their dear friend. It started with many of them changing their Facebook profile pictures to include Kevin. His friends then started an Instagram site: "Kev's Crew" to raise awareness for suicide prevention. They also raised over $7,000 for the American Federation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) by walking in the AFSP "out of the darkness walk" less than 3 weeks after the wake.