Obituaries : * Andrew C. Cartwright; Equipment Firm Owner

Andrew C. Cartwright, who carved some of the first airplane runways into the Alaskan tundra before he retired to Somis, has died. He was 86.

Cartwright worked with heavy construction equipment his whole life, his daughter, Cathrine Cartwright, said.

“He loved equipment. He just loved anything that moved or did things,” she said.

Born in Lyon Mountain, N.Y., he spent 10 years building airstrips in Alaska in the 1930s and 1940s. In the mid-1940s, he moved to Mexico, where he learned to fly airplanes.

He eventually moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he started Cartwright Supply Co., which sold everything from traffic cones to tractors to the state of Iowa.

Cartwright retired to Somis 10 years ago to be near his daughter. He enjoyed woodworking and was a 32nd degree Mason.

In addition to his daughter, he leaves his wife of 50 years, Nellie Cartwright.

A memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Camarillo. Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary in Camarillo is handling the arrangements.