SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A 98-year-old man who died Tuesday was likely the last living person who worked on the Golden Gate Bridge.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1HCmYjr ) that Gus Villalta died at a hospital in San Jose just one day before the 78th anniversary of the bridge's opening.
His son, Los Banos Mayor Michael Villalta, called his father a humble man.
The Italian-born Villata landed a job as an electrician's assistant after graduating in the midst of the Great Depression. He was paid 75 cents an hour to pass wire to more experienced workers on the south tower.
He served in the army in World War II and then settled in Los Banos, where he became well-known.
Villalta had a ham radio station, ran Gus' Radio and Television repair shop until he was 88 years old and stopped to talk to friends on his daily afternoon walk through town.
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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com