Our dad, Andrew Francis “Andy” Hiblar was born on Nov. 23, 1921, and passed away peaceably on Oct. 22, 2016, at his Orchard Park residence with his wife Billie at his side.

Dad was a long time Oak Harbor resident, commencing with two earlier billets at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and continuously from 1960 until 2013.

Dad, a first generation American, was born in Frederickson, Wash., and grew up on his parents’ homestead there. His parents, eldest brother, Steve, and eldest sister, Mary, had immigrated from what was the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now the Slovak Republic. His father and his father’s brother-in-law arrived in this country in 1906, with his mother and elder siblings not being able to come until 1913. Dad grew up bilingual in English and the Slovakian dialect of Czechoslovakian, and commented that he would fall asleep at night listening to his parents’ conversations in Slovakian, fascinated with the beautiful way his father phrased his comments.

Dad graduated from Bellarmine High School in June, 1940, and enlisted in the Navy the following October. During World War II, he saw duty in Alaska, San Diego, Tennessee, Florida, and Majuro in the South Pacific. During the Korean War, he participated in two tours on the USS Princeton and one tour on the USS Kearsarge. After retiring from the Navy as a chief petty officer, he worked for the civil service at Ault Field, Whidbey Island, from 1963 until 1982. Dad was an avid bowler and bowled on three teams until he was 88.

Dad was a member of St. Augustine’s Parish from 1960 until he moved to Bellingham in 2013. He was a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus and served as Grand Knight. Dad was preceded in death by first wife, Beverly; his sisters, Mary, Emily and Elizabeth; and his brothers Steve, Joey, John and Tony. He is survived by his wife, Billie; his children, Eugene, Linda (Steve King), Drew, Tom (Lynn Hiblar), and Michelle (Tim Thomas); his brother Bill; his six grandchildren, Ryan, Trevor, Nathan, Heather, Chad and Madison; and his three great-grandchildren, Taylor, Connor and Katelynn.

A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31 at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, 185 N Oak Harbor St., Oak Harbor, WA. with military honors following the service. A reception will follow.