Andrew Nicholas Bodnar, age 87, of Bainbridge Island, died Dec. 18 at Island Health and Rehabilitation Center of congestive heart failure.

He was born and raised outside of Duquesne, Penn.

During World War II, he was shipped out to fight in the Pacific from Fort Lawton, Wash. He served in the Army (77th Armored Division) as a tank commander, he receiving the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

During the war, he met and married Jean Elizabeth Gillan in Hollywood, Calif.

After the war, he returned to Gary, Ind., and worked in a steel mill. Within a year, the family moved to Long Beach, Calif., where he worked for a steel fabrication company in Los Angeles. One of the more interesting jobs he had was the fabrication of Disneyland.

He then worked as a self-employed draftsperson before working for the state of California as a construction inspector on the construction of the California Aqueduct.

He ended his career as a private inspector and member of the Operating Engineers Union.

He retired to Seal Beach, Calif., in 1981.

He was an expert pool player and rose gardener. He was devoted to his wife, whom he cared for until she died in 1989 from complications associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

He moved to Bainbridge Island in 1999. He was a resident of the Wyatt House Retirement Center and enjoyed going out for lunch at the local restaurants, riding his three-wheeled scooter.

He is survived by his son, Nick Bodnar, daughter-in-law Carol Bodnar, and grandson Blake Bodnar of Bainbridge Island; step-grandson Ryan Secrist of Seattle; and his younger sisters Ann Denne of West Mifflin, Penn., and Mary Madaras of Lady Lake, Fla.

Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home.