Michael J. Dobrancin Jr., 86, of East Brady died Monday at his home.

Born Sept. 26, 1919, in Slovakia, he was the son of Michael J. and Anna Chopka Dobrancin.

He came to the United States at the age of 16; and with only a sixth grade education, he became a self-made man and accomplished much in his life. There was nothing he could not do or teach himself to do.

During World War II, he served with Co. D, 60th Infantry, 9th Division, U.S. Army. He was a sharpshooter in the Normandy campaign and was wounded in the hedgerows of France on July 17, 1944. He received the Purple Heart on Aug. 9, 1944, at the No. 24 Headquarters, 22nd General Hospital. He also received the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with one Battle Star.

He had been a crane operator at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh before WWII. After the war, he moved to East Brady, the home of his wife, where he owned and operated the Captain Brady Service Station and the Captain Brady TV and Appliance Store from 1945 to 1957. He then acquired the Travelers Hotel & Restaurant in East Brady that he operated with his wife until it was destroyed by a fire in 1978.

In 1969, he pioneered the television cable business when he established the Do-Bran-Cin Cable Vision Co., now owned by Armstrong Cable. He erected the first cable TV tower and strung the first cable TV wires in the East Brady area.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening and long walks.

Mr. Dobrancin was a member of St. Eusebius Roman Catholic Church of East Brady and served as a hospitality minister at the church.

He also belonged to Bradys Bend American Legion Post 488 and the East Brady/Chicora Rotary Club, where served as sergeant-at-arms.

Surviving are his wife, Frances A. Lewis Dobrancin, whom he married Feb. 13, 1941; a son, James E. Dobrancin and his wife, Margaret M., of St. Paul, Minn.; a daughter, Michele B. George and her husband, James A., of East Brady; and five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, Frances Dobrancin, who died July 20, 1959; and a sister.

<B>DOBRANCIN</B> — Friends of Michael J. Dobrancin Jr., who died Monday, March 27, 2006, will be received from 7 to 9 p.m. today and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the <B>Charles B. Buechele Funeral Home</B>, 105 Fourth St., East Brady. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Eusebius Roman Catholic Church, East Brady. Church pastor, the Rev. William Kuba and the Rev. Edward Lewis, pastor of Christ Prince of Peace Roman Catholic Church of Ford City, will officiate. Burial will be at St. Eusebius Cemetery, Brady Township, Clarion County.American Legion Post 488 will hold a memorial service at 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home and will conduct military honors at the cemetery on Friday.A parish prayer service will be held at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.