Nobel Bell 120th Regiment

Noble Bell, believed to be Indiana County's oldest World War II veteran, died Saturday.

He was 101.

The former Marion Center resident served as a surgical technician in the medical detachment of the U.S. Army's in Europe during World War II. He saw combat across central Europe in places such as Northern France, the Rhineland in Germany and Belgium, according to his family.

In 1943, he was drafted into the Army at the age of 36 while he was living in Washington Township on his family's farm.

``At 36, he was old (for the Army), but they were taking everybody,'' said his niece Sue Olson, of Marion Center. ``He was too old to be with the boys up front so he went to school to be a medic.''

Shortly after being drafted, Noble and his wife, Martha, moved to Marion Center where they remained until October of this year.

Olson said her uncle never spoke much about the war until later in life when his family started interviewing him about his experience.

``He was only in a short time, but he was really in the brunt of battle because he had to be a medic and drag out the wounded and the dead,'' Olson said. ``He was wounded twice and that's why he lived to be 101 because he was in England (recovering) during some of the big battles. He wouldn't have survived.''

Noble was wounded twice, once near Zopp, Germany, in 1944, which earned him a Purple Heart. He was discharged on Dec. 4, 1945, as a private first class.

Bell's family believes he was the oldest county veteran of the war, and the Department of Veterans Affairs in Indiana County agreed in a 2007 Gazette article on his service.

Prior to the war, Bell lived on the Washington Township family farm - his joy, Olson said. He attended Indiana Area High School for one year.

Olson recalled that while at Indiana, her uncle went to a dance dateless with another local boy, Jimmy Stewart. The two met in the stag line, she said.

``Jimmy took him under his wing. He just said `You come along with me,''' Olson said.

Bell finished high school at Marion Center School District where he met his wife, Martha Steffy. They graduated in 1927 and were married on Thanksgiving Day 1935.

``They always knew each other. I'm not sure when they started going together but my aunt said to me `Nobody else ever came but him,''' Olson said.He owned and operated Savan Mill, a grinding and animal feed business, was a farmer, and a school teacher, following the footsteps of his mother who encouraged him to get into her profession. He and Martha both taught in one-room schools in Washington Township and later in the Marion Center School District. Martha retired as an elementary school teacher after 42 years, and Noble taught sixth-grade for quite some time.

``He was a very gentle person and very good with children,'' Olson said. ``Every child loved him. He would read a book to them ten times if they wanted. It seemed like he had a good rapport when he was a teacher.''

After their retirement, Olson said her aunt and uncle loved to travel in their recreational vehicle, camp and refurbish furniture. Noble was known as ``Mr. Fix-It,'' and enjoyed woodworking. Though the family's barn was gone, he and Martha were known to hop into the car and drive near the farm and the one-room Bell School where he once taught. Martha preceded him death at the age of 100 in March.

Old age, Olson said, never stopped them and the couple enjoyed a long retirement.

``All I can say is they were young at heart and they never wanted to be senior citizens. They had friends of all ages,'' Olson said. ``I think they just had that thing about them, that young of heart.''

Asked if the couple ever shared the secret to their longevity she replied, ``They were very good people. Good living. They were wonderful people.''

The Bells are survived by their daughter, Sara Kathryn Bell, of Colorado, two grandchildren and three nieces.

County's oldest WWII vet dies

By LAUREN DALEY