As a dedicated working man, Bernard R. Novak could do just about anything. He laid block and brick, poured concrete, did plumbing, wiring and carpentry work, and even could fix cars.

But Mr. Novak is best known for building a long and, by all accounts, successful career as a local union leader and public servant.

Beginning with entry positions in politics and with United Steelworkers of America Local 2227, Mr. Novak rose to become that local's president at the U.S. Steel Irvin Works in West Mifflin when it had about 5,000 members. Then he served six terms as a state legislator in the 38th State Legislative District in the Mon Valley.

Mr. Novak, 90, of West Mifflin, died Thursday from problems arising from pneumonia, heart disease, intestinal surgery and a broken hip.

"He never went into politics for grandiose ideas," said his son, Bernard Novak III of Indiana, Pa. "He was just an ordinary guy.

"He did it all for the regular Joe."

In 1943, Mr. Novak married Betty Mae Sippos Novak, who survives him, while serving in the Army Air Forces during World War II. Before the war, he had been a mechanic in a bus garage in Duquesne but landed a job after the war at Irvin Works. He built his own home in West Mifflin in 1950 and lived there the rest of his life.

Ascending to president of USW Local 2227, Mr. Novak successfully supported survival benefits as "a humanitarian gesture," for widows of deceased steelworkers. When he ran for a state legislative seat in 1967 to do more for working families, he received support from then-Pittsburgh Mayor Joseph M. Barr.

Mr. Novak campaigned door to door throughout the district and rarely missed a public event. It led to his election in 1968 as a New Frontier Democrat -- a new party movement advocating greater community and citizen input in government.

For the next 12 years, people would stream into his legislative office in the basement of his home, where he followed a policy of trying to resolve every person's problem or running errands for them in Harrisburg. He served as chairman of the House Labor Relations Committee and vice chairman of the House Military & Veterans Affairs Committee.

During those years in Harrisburg, Mr. Novak had full support from labor but also garnered support from the steel industry as an industry advocate, his son said. Irvin Works officials allowed him to keep his seniority and his job while a legislator, as long as he reported for work a few days each month. He held his mill job for the full 12 years in office and retired from the mill after 43 years.

"He felt he could accomplish bigger things in Harrisburg, and the steelworkers realized he also was a good voice for the industry," said his son.

Mr. Novak also prided himself in being an industrial and political ombudsman.

The only controversy of any note during his legislative career involved his support to release on bail convicted murderer John P. Minarik from Western Penitentiary while the West Mifflin man awaited a new trial. In 1971, Mr. Minarik was sentenced to life in prison for slaying his ex-fiance Rosemary Kacsuta, 21, with an ax in the bedroom of her parents' Greenfield home.

While Mr. Novak was one of several notable people supporting Mr. Minarik's release, fellow legislators criticized his stance on the matter.

"It's due process," Mr. Novak was quoted as saying in June 1980. "I just happen to know the fella. I met him when he worked with me at Irvin Works before this incident, and I work with his father."

Eventually Mr. Minarik was released from prison under a $100,000 bond but returned to prison a few weeks later when the state Supreme Court ruled against a new trial.

During one point in his career, Mr. Novak served simultaneously as USW Local 2227 president, West Mifflin auditor and state legislator. While expressing satisfaction with his public service, Mr. Novak announced his retirement from politics in February 1980 and noted it had not all been a bed of roses. "People show no mercy," he said. "They call you any time of the day or night."

Most calls involved complaints about bad road conditions, he said.

"The greatest satisfaction in my life is when somebody calls you back and says, 'Thank you,' " he said at the time. "The people in the 38th District have shown a lot of confidence in me, but it is tough to run every other year."

In addition to his wife and son, survivors include a daughter, Mary Sue Kintzer of Harrisburg; another son, Michael Novak of Munhall; a sister, Carol Fenton of Ligonier; six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. today in St. Joseph Church, Duquesne. Burial with military honors is scheduled at Jefferson Memorial Park.

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