John J. Nolan | Elevator builder, 82

John J. Nolan, 82, of Drexel Hill, a builder and repairer of elevators, died of heart failure May 30 at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Born in Philadelphia, he was a 1944 graduate of St. Thomas More High School. He enlisted in the Navy, became a medical corpsman, and was preparing to ship out for the invasion of Japan when World War II ended.

Mr. Nolan's daughter, Sally Campitelli, said that he was a union subcontract worker, beginning with Otis Elevator Co. in the 1940s and then with Westinghouse Corp. from the 1970s until he retired in 1986.

"His big claim was [helping to construct] the elevators in the Delaware Memorial Bridge" at the southern end of the New Jersey Turnpike, his daughter said.

"Later on in his career, he was a troubleshooter," she said. "If the elevators weren't working" at Drexel University," she said, he would help repair them.

Mr. Nolan was a 40-year member of Local 5 of the International Union of Elevator Constructors, and was a member of American Legion Post 214.

"He loved horse racing," his daughter said. He would take each daughter, one at a time. "He knew how to handicap, he taught me to handicap, and it was fun."

And, she said, "he was a caring and devoted husband and father."

Besides his daughter, Mr. Nolan is survived by his wife of 62 years, Mae; a son, John C.; daughters Carol Gillespie, Kathy Roberege, Karen and Joan; seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. A son, Robert, died in 2001.

Visitation was set for 9 a.m. today at St. Dorothy Church, 4910 Township Line Rd., Drexel Hill, followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Mass there. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.