Senior Profile – Leo Noker

By Janice Lane Palko

Leo Noker of Hampton will turn 101 in March, and he’s needed all those years to accommodate the numerous accomplishments he’s achieved over his lifetime.

Leo was born at home in a one-room house in Dubois, Pennsylvania, to parents Leo and Rosella Noker, and he had a brother, Bob. Leo attended Penn State University where he was an outstanding wrestler and earned a Civil Engineering degree. 

When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the army where he was assigned to the 1539 Engineer Base Survey Company. He rose to Tech Sergeant and was one of the select few who had knowledge of the planning for the D-Day invasion. 

Leo knew the beaches where and the times that the divisions would be landing. He never boasted about that, but in notes he took back then, he wrote “gave the invasion a lift.” In addition, his note from June 6, 1944, says, “Turn in history has taken place. Feeling different.”

One day while he was in the barracks, he met General Eisenhower. As the men stood at attention, the general stopped and asked Leo his name and where he was from. 

As he served with the Engineer Base Survey Company, Leo was assigned a camera and took many pictures during his time in Europe. Unfortunately, he was behind the viewfinder for most of photos, but there are some of him in Paris and Luxemburg, and he kept extensive notes of the things he saw while on the continent. 

When the war was over, Noker returned to the states aboard the SS Tristam Dalton. Any time he talks about the trips he took by sea, over or back, Leo always makes a point to mention that “he never got seasick.” And recalls “how the tables for meals were full at the beginning of the trip, but by the end, he was practically sitting alone at mealtimes because everyone else was seasick.”

After returning home, Leo worked at Erdner Engineering in Pittsburgh, and then Industrial Engineering in Fairmont, West Virginia, until 1963. He then moved back to Pittsburgh, where he founded Noker Engineering, in Hampton, which is still in business today.

He married wife, Darla, in 1969, and they have two sons, Leo and Robert, who now run Noker Engineering, as well as four grandchildren.

Leo and Darla always loved to travel. Their favorite places to visit with their family were Disney World and Gettysburg. Leo did work for Disney when the park was being built, which led to taking his family to Disney World beginning in 1973, creating a lifelong love of going to Disney that has been passed on to his children and grandchildren. 

Leo went to work every day at the engineering firm until he got Covid in 2022 when he was 98 years old. He still doesn’t consider himself retired because he never liked the thought of retiring. He is an avid reader and keeps himself strong by doing daily light exercise. Leo loves being with his children and grandchildren, and they love being with him and hearing about his amazing life! He is deeply loved and respected by his family.