Obituary of Harold C. "Pete" Noe, Jr.

Harold C. Noe, Jr. passed away at the Lahey Clinic, Burlington, MA on January 31, 2007 after a lengthy battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was known throughout his life as “Pete”. Born in Glen Ridge, NJ on July 17, 1920, Pete graduated from Nutley High School in Nutley, NJ in 1938 and from the College of Wooster in Wooster, OH in 1942. As a young naval officer in the PT boat fleet, Pete saw action in both the English Channel and in the Pacific during WWII. Naval service never diminished his love of the sea; he was a lifelong sailor and boater. After the war, he completed graduate work in chemistry at Columbia University and began his career with Nalco, now a large petrochemical company. Pete started with the water chemistry group in Texas and joined the petrochemical division as it was first being formed. Later he joined Nalco’s international division, relocated to Chicago and spent the rest of his career as a globetrotting chemical engineer/troubleshooter for Nalco. Pete once estimated that he spent almost 80% of his time out of the country in the last few years of his career. He retired from Nalco in 1982. Pete was a long-time summer resident of Southport, Maine. Outside of his naval service, Pete rarely missed a summer in Maine. Although he never married, Pete was a constant presence in his family’s life staying connected via telephone and personal visits. After retiring, Pete had most of his family and friends on a weekly telephone call schedule. It was rare when he didn’t call at the expected time. When the COPD made it difficult to live on his own, Pete moved to Country Club Heights in Woburn, MA in 2002 to be closer to family. He showed much grace and dignity in dealing with a painful and debilitating disease. He is survived by his sisters, Patricia N. Bursaw and Barbara N. Shaw; his sister-in-law, Hope T. Noe; his cousins, Ann Brenton Smith, Suzanne Cavanaugh, Jean O’Donnell, Frankie Aggers, and Sherry Heiser and his nieces and nephews, Margaret S. Bursaw, Barbara Bursaw Beach, David S. Bursaw, Jonathan N. Bursaw, Christopher O. Bursaw, Richard B. Bursaw, Janet Bursaw Frick, Alice E. Noe, Caroline Noe Jimenez, Brenton C. Noe, Patricia B. Noe, Rebecca S. Noe, Susannah B. Noe and Tammy Shaw Pigott. Pete’s brother, William B. “Duke” Noe passed away in 1999. It was Pete’s wish that no funeral service be held. Tentative plans are for celebrating Pete’s life and memory this summer in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. If you would like to make a donation in his memory, Pete was a long-time supporter of the Pine Tree Society ( www.pinetreesociety.org ). Their address is P.O. Box 518, 149 Front Street, Bath, ME 04530. The Conway Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, Peabody MA, is handling the arrangements for Pete. His obituary will be posted on their website www.ccbfuneral.com where a guest book will be available so you may post your comments and memories of Pete.