Darlene (Boettcher) Noyce, 84, of Owatonna, MN, passed away Thursday, February 14, 2019, at Birchwood Cottages in Owatonna after a brave battle with Alzheimer's disease. Darlene was born on February 24, 1934, in Owatonna, Minnesota, the daughter of Albert and Augusta Boettcher. As a toddler, Darlene's love for all animals became obvious. She adopted many cats and dogs and enjoyed raising and caring for her doves and pigeons. Her first dog, Skipper, brought her immense joy, as did all the dogs that followed in his paws. A beautiful and popular girl, Darlene graduated from Owatonna High School in 1952, then moved to Minneapolis for a year to attend the Minneapolis Business School. After completion, Darlene went to work for Federated Insurance, and it was there she met and fell in love with Donald Noyce. At the time of her death, Darlene and Don had been married for 61 years. Don said goodbye to his sweetheart on Valentine's Day. Don's career took the young couple on a couple of adventures. First to Ark City, Kansas, where they welcomed their first child, Ronald, and their first puppy, Caesar. Soon after, the family moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where their daughter, Nancy was born. In 1961, they made their way back to Owatonna and then welcomed son, David. Darlene loved and raised her children, as well as, her four-legged "kids" including Caesar, Molly, Kady, Han and Smokee. She also loved the other dogs who wondered in and out of her life: Hootie, Bridget, Lacy and Bailey. Her children sometimes joked that she loved dogs more than she did them. She was a loving and devoted mother and truly enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, Grace (Winkel) Brown, Jillian Winkel, Ellen Winkel, Andy Noyce, Bri Noyce and Zach Noyce. Besides her family and her animals, Darlene's interests included shopping, researching family history and creating photo albums to preserve those memories, gardening, cooking, and she was an excellent seamstress. She loved the Christmas season and the decorating that goes along with it and was a collector of unique ornaments such as classic cars and airplanes, antique tricycles and wagons. Her Dickens Village display was a wonder and always delighted her grandchildren. She loved all kinds of music but it was Rock and Roll from the 50's and 60's, especially Elvis, that she loved to dance to. Traveling was also a favorite activity; the trip to Memphis to visit Graceland shortly after "the King" passed was a favorite. Darlene also dedicated her time working for Jostens up until her retirement in 1993. She is survived by husband, Don Noyce, son, Ron (Linda) Noyce, of Cambridge, MN, daughter, Nancy (Steve) Winkel of Overland Park, KS, son, Dave (Trish) Noyce of Owatonna; grandchildren Grace (Bryan) Brown of Kansas, Jillian Winkel of Kansas, Ellen Winkel of Denver, CO, Andy Noyce, Bri Noyce and Zach Noyce, all of Owatonna; step grandchildren, Bryan Craig of Florida, Brett (Karin) Craig of Andover, MN, Kelly (Jay) Anderson of Cambridge, MN and Cassandra (Jason) Larson of Blaine, MN; great grandchild, Parker Brown; many cousins, other relatives and friends. Visitation will be at Michaelson Funeral Home in Owatonna on Friday, February 22nd from 5-7pm and on Saturday, February 23rd from 10-11am. Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 11am at Michaelson Funeral Home in Owatonna with Michael Slagenweit-Coffman officiating. Interment will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Owatonna. Memorials are preferred to Steele County Humane Society.