Growing Up

Paula is a native of North Texas.  She was born and raised in East Fort Worth with her older brother Chet and younger brother Mark.  Paula’s father, Chester Noblett, served in the US Navy during World War II and re-enlisted again during the Korean War where he was stationed at the Naval Air Base in Grand Prairie. Chester went to work for Bell Helicopter after leaving the Navy.  Her mother, Jeannie Noblett, was a community activist who served on the Fort Worth Mayor’s Women’s Committee and held coffees for Lyndon Johnson and Jim Wright.  Paula’s grandfather, Paul Noblett, was a union carpenter who worked on the Will Rogers Coliseum through FDR’s WPA program.

Paula was very active in school and in local community organizations growing up. She played softball, basketball and volleyball in school and earned awards from the Y Teen program for collecting the most canned goods for the annual food drive.

Some of Paula’s fondest memories growing up were the vacations her family took, usually revolving around attending National and State AFL-CIO conventions with Paula’s father. Travelling to Galveston and staying at the Seahorse Motel was her favorite of these vacations. Paula and her brothers were able to play on the beach all day with their mother while her father was in meetings attending to union business.

Paula’s strong work ethic was instilled in her by her father. At age 10, Paula responded to an ad in the back of Life magazine and began to sell Christmas and All Occasion greeting cards door to door (much to the surprise of her parents) in order to earn enough money to have her hair cut in a beauty shop, something she knew her parents couldn’t afford. As a teenager, Paula babysat neighborhood children and worked during the holidays at local stores.