Harry V. ‘Andy’ Anderson, 84; Welder, 53-Year County Resident

Harry V. “Andy” Anderson, a 53-year resident of Ventura County, died Wednesday at his Ventura home of a heart attack. He was 84.

He was born Sept. 12, 1912, in Redwood City, Calif.

A Navy veteran, Anderson was a welder and heavy-duty mechanic until his retirement in 1962.

A longtime member of Operating Engineers Local No. 12 in Ventura, Anderson worked on many major government projects, including Shasta and Boulder (now Hoover) dams, and in the shipyards during World War II.

Anderson enjoyed restoring Plymouth cars and drove an antique automobile to his daily coffee klatch at the Vagabond Coffee Shop on Thompson Boulevard, said friend George Croskey. He came to the shop regularly for more than 20 years.

“He came down here until the day before he died,” Croskey said.

“He was kind of a down-to-earth guy.”

Anderson talked about cars and regaled his friends with his experiences as a civilian welder during the war in the North African desert, where he had the crucial job of repairing bullet-riddled water tanks, Croskey said.

Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Evelyn Anderson; son and daughter-in-law Harry Jr. and Paula Anderson; daughters and sons-in-law Susan and Bob Colla and Patricia and Charles Swift, all of Ventura, and Imogene and Coy McClester of Ojai; sisters Mary Nafziger of Loma, Colo., and Jean Diaz of Clovis; 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.