KNOX — Art Ogsbury was described by his wife as “Mr. Wonderful to the World.”

“I told him that all the time,” said Mae Ogsbury. “He was a proud man and a hard worker. He was a smiley man. His handshake was strong; that was his trademark.”

Arthur D. Ogsbury of Knox Cave Road in the town of Knox died on Monday, April 1, at St. Peter’s Hospice Inn in Albany after several health issues. He was 76.

He was born Oct. 24, 1942 in Albany, a son of Clarence and Hilda Ruth (née Settle) Ogsbury. His father was a well-driller and his mother was a homemaker with six children. He was raised on a farm in Delanson that burned.

“He talked about his grandfather’s farm in Knox, Settles Farm,” said Mrs. Ogsbury. “When he was growing up, he worked with his grandfather on the farm.”

Mr. Ogsbury graduated from Duanesburg High School in 1961.

He met the woman who would become his wife at Christie’s Diner on Route 7 in Delanson. “I was a waitress there,” recalled Mrs. Ogsbury. “He came in several days after work. He kept asking me out. I kept saying no, no, no. Finally, I had coffee with him one day and I’ve been serving him coffee, and breakfast and dinner ever since — for 52 years.”

“Never afraid of hard work, Art began a long career with General Electric Company in Schenectady as a structural steel worker, retiring in 1997 at age 55, while also doing side jobs — welding, well drilling, and any kind of repairs imaginable,” his family wrote in a tribute.

“He enjoyed working, developing his property, working with machinery and building the perfect garage to house the tools of his many trades.”

“He was a workaholic,” Mrs. Ogsbury said. As a structural steel worker, his job was a risky one since he had to climb high.

“You know the big GE sign in Schenectady?” his wife asked. “He put cameras on that sign and changed the bulbs … He climbed in; he climbed out; he climbed up; he climbed down. He loved it,” she said, adding, “He never told me about it because I’d be upset.”

He and his wife are longtime members of the Quaker Street Bible Church. “It’s a Bible-believing church, no denomination,” said Mrs. Ogsbury. “We read the Bible and follow God’s word.”

Together, the Ogsburys raised two daughters, Patty and Sandy. “He loved his babies; they’re now 50 years old,” said Mrs. Ogsbury.

“He put a big work ethic in both of them,” she said. As a father, Mr. Ogsbury was determined and set goals, she said.

“He always said,” his wife recalled, pausing to be sure she got the words right, “‘If you love what you do, you’ll never have to go to work.’”

Five years ago, Mr. Ogsbury had a terrible accident while working in his yard. He was using a blowtorch to heat and straighten the side of a dented trailer when the hydraulic jack he was using to prop up the trailer slipped free and hit his stomach. He fell into his blowtorch. He walked 150 feet from the garage to his house and called 9-1-1 before he passed out.

“He went to a burn unit in Westchester,” his wife said. On his return, family and friends held a fundraiser for him at the Quaker Inn. His neighbors were returning the many favors he had done for them over the years.

“He was a very handy man,” said his wife. “If a neighbor stopped by or someone called, he was always there to help.”

Mr. Wonderful to the World, indeed.

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Arthur D. Ogsbury  is survived by his wife, Mae (née Burdick) Ogsbury whom he married Oct. 26, 1966; his two daughters, Patty VanDyke and her husband, Bill, of Knox, and Sandy Pepicelli and her husband, Anthony, of Rotterdam; two granddaughters, Alysha and Andrea VanDyke; and two great-grandchildren, Axle and Arrow Tambasco.

He is also survived by two sisters, Diane Glogner of South Dakota and Donna Guyotte of Ashland, New Hampshire; several nieces and nephews; and his faithful buddy, “Duke.”

His brother, Richard, died before him, as did two sisters, Delores Lott and Dellene Rowlison.

A calling hour will be held on Saturday, April 13, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Quaker Street Bible Church at 10328 Duanesburg Road in Delanson followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. Fellowship will follow in the church hall where all are invited.

The Langan Funeral Home of Schoharie and the Robert A. Guffin Funeral Home of Cobleskill are assisting the Ogsbury family. 

Memorial contributions may be made to Posey Shelter Pet, Post Office Box 2062, Cedartown, Georgia 30125, or to Quaker Street Bible Church, Post Office Box 63, Delanson, NY 12053.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer