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When the Washington Nationals made a run to the 2019 World Series, Noreen Naughton wasn’t a baseball fan. But you know who did follow the team regularly? Her kids Danny and Austin. Noreen took note, tried her best to learn baseball, and invested herself so she could meet the kids at their level.
That’s one of countless examples of Noreen jumping at the chance to share in something important to her family. The reality is there is nothing more important to her kids, and her husband Dan, than Noreen. Everyone has come to learn that their happiness means everything to her and that she’ll do whatever she can to help them find it.
“The Nationals winning the World Series was pretty special to me because she wasn’t the biggest baseball fan, but knew it was something my brother and I paid attention to,” Dan said. “She saw we enjoyed it, she started paying attention, watching more, and asking questions about rules. That just goes back to how she wants us to always be happy and will support any way she can.”
“Reenie” was born in Silver Spring as one of six children to her parents, Ruth, and John Barr. She attended St. Bernadette’s Catholic School, graduated high school from Holy Name and got her degree from the University of Maryland. She still loves following the Terrapins football team and every other Washington sports team, which eventually came to include the Nationals in 2019.
Danny laughs at her mom’s dedication to Candy Crush — “She is on level 4000-something,” Danny says — and he also chuckles thinking back to family game nights, where they could make their mom laugh so hard, she cried. Those are the memories the whole family will remember.
Danny admires how hard his mom keeps herself active with fitness classes, being there for her family and taking care of her dog, Rocky. Even more importantly, all three kids have seen in their parents what true love and partnership really is. Noreen and Dan are a perfect pair with the same dedication to family.
“You can learn a lot of things from their marriage and how they work so well together,” Danny said. “They never let us see when times were tough growing up. They were good at always hiding that sort of thing, and they always sacrificed to make us happy. I admire how she truly would like to see our happiness before hers. That selflessness doesn’t go unnoticed.”
It doesn’t go unnoticed, in part, because it’s in everything Noreen Naughton does. And that’s the most amazing part of calling her a friend, a wife, or a mother. She makes incredible compassion and sacrifice feel routine because it’s her default position in life.
And how can her family possibly think about repaying her for that level of selflessness? Well, they can start by simply saying, “Thank you.”
“She is our whole world. She is the rock of the family. She is our Mama. She is a rockstar and just such a strong, loving soul. I couldn’t ask for a better mom.” said Dan.
Danny concluded with the following sentiment “We all love her so much and she means so much to all of us. Now that we’re older, we all just want to see her happy now because she sacrificed so much for us, and she deserves all the recognition. And I hope this article brings her some of that happiness.”
