GUILDERLAND — Charles Orth Desch was a man of deep and long-lasting commitments. He met the woman who would become his wife in high school, and he started his excavation business in high school, too. Both of those passions lasted a lifetime.

Mr. Desch died unexpectedly on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. He was 85.

“He was a very determined, stubborn, honest man,” said his daughter, Carol Ann Desch. “He was a really hard worker.”

The son of the late Charles Henry Desch and Ida Orth Desch, he was born in Albany. Mr. Desch grew up in Pine Hills. His father was a carpenter who built houses and his mother was a homemaker.

He graduated from Albany’s Philip Schuyler High School in 1948. “He bought his first bulldozer and dump truck when he was in high school and started his business then,” said his daughter.

She went on, “He was very passionate about his work. He loved working outdoors and with heavy equipment. He was gifted as a mechanic. He could take one of those big machines apart and put it back together with his eyes closed.”

Mr. Desch worked for himself. A longtime member of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 106, he was an excavating contractor for over 65 years.

In May 1949, he married Viola May Bathrick of Tivoli, New York. They had met in Albany, through mutual friends, while he was still in high school. Together, they raised two sons and two daughters.

“He was a wonderful father,” said Ms. Desch. “He was not a sentimental man. He showed us how much he cared by his day-to-day actions, like partnering with my mother to care for our grandparents.”

In his later years, Mr. Desch took great pride and pleasure in his grandsons. “He had a quirky sense of humor and he enjoyed cracking jokes with them,” said Ms. Desch.

Mr. Desch also valued his friendships. “At the wake last night, there were so many friends,” said his daughter on Monday.

She said that the most important thing she learned from her father was “the value of hard work.” Ms. Desch said, “He modeled that for us.”

His family wrote in a tribute, “His greatest passions in life were his wife, Viola; his family; his friends; and his work.”

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Charles Orth Desch is survived by his loving wife, Viola, and three of his four children — Carol Ann Desch and her husband, Paul Silverstein; Lyn Marie Desch-Lawton; and Kenneth Charles Desch and his wife, Dolores.

He is also survived by his brother Noel Desch, and his brother’s wife, Janet. His brother Kenneth C. Desch and his brother’s wife, Adeline, died before him, as did his sister, Carolyn Silvernail, and his son Charles Henry Desch II. His son’s wife, Monica Desch, survives him, as does his sister’s husband, John Silvernail.

He is survived, too, by his six grandsons: Justin P. Lawton, Brandon C. Lawton, Kevin C. Desch, Paul V. Lawton III, Kyle D. Lawton, and Sean M. Desch. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

Calling hours were Jan. 10, at the New Comer Funeral Home in Colonie.  Funeral services will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or a charity of choice.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer