Ernst N. Abelmann; Retired Project Manager

Ernst N. Abelmann, a longtime construction executive, has died in Glendale. He was 76.

A resident of Glendale, Abelmann died Tuesday of heart failure after a lengthy battle with heart problems, said Nat B. Read, a family friend.

A native of Frankfurt, Germany, Abelmann began his career in the construction trade in Johannesburg, South Africa. During World War II, he served as an intelligence officer in the South African Army on loan to the British. He achieved the rank of major.

He moved to the United States during the early 1950s, and served as project manager and assistant to the president of Volz Construction Co. in Santa Monica from 1956 to 1962. He then joined Oltmans Construction Co. in Whittier as a project manager, retiring in 1981.

Abelmann is past president of the British United Services Club, the Beverly Hills Exchange Club, the Los Angeles chapter of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California and the Commercial Industrial Council of the Building Contractors Assn. He also was on the board of directors for the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California.

Also, he was a member of the Glendale Rotary Club and served on the city of Glendale’s architectural review board in the late 1980s.

He is survived by his wife of six years, Georgia Abelmann; a son, Ronald Abelmann of Alamo, Calif.; a sister, Renata Ricci of Santa Monica; and two grandsons.

A memorial service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1020 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale. Mount Sinai Mortuary in Los Angeles is handling the arrangements. Donations can be made in Abelmann’s name to the City of Hope.