Thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of Nancy Noakes during their time of grief.

From the Milton Canadian Champion

A long-time and beloved Milton librarian has been identified as one of two victims in Tuesday afternoon’s fatal plane crash in Markham.

Nancy Noakes, 50, worked for the past decade as a part-time employee with the circulation department at Milton Public Library’s Bruce Street location, said Chief Librarian Leslie Fitch.

And she’ll be dearly missed.

“Nancy was a person who prided herself on the work she did,” Fitch told the Champion yesterday afternoon, just hours after she and other staff members were informed of the tragic news. “At this point it’s difficult to find words at all.”

Many people in town who frequented the library would’ve known Noakes — who worked at the library since 2000 — as a friendly, familiar face, Fitch said.

Noakes was killed along with a Burlington pilot — who has been confirmed by other media outlets as Paul Jess — when the four-seat Cessna he was flying crashed through the roof of a two-storey office building at about 12:30 p.m. and burst into flames. It crashed just 500 metres from Buttonville Airport, from where it took off.

The 14 employees at Thinkway Toys, where the plane crashed, got out safely.

As of press time yesterday, police still hadn’t confirmed the identity of the pilot or his passenger. The plane was based out of the Burlington Air Park on Bell School Line, south of Britannia Road. Some newspapers reported it was at Buttonville Airport for radio repairs.

Noakes had started taking flying lessons a few years ago, Fitch said, and it quickly became a favourite pastime.

“She was a passionate flyer since she started taking lessons and it brought her great joy,” Fitch said.

Noakes was a mother of a son and a daughter, who were young adults, Fitch said.

— With files from Daniel Nolan, the Hamilton Spectator