KNOX — Raymond F. Shafer Sr. — a farmer, produce seller, and storyteller — died on Sunday, April 9, 2017. He was 101. In recent years, he enjoyed visits from family and friends and deer hunters to swap hunting tales.

Mr. Shafer was was born on Oct. 19, 1915, in Duanesburg to Frank and G. Catherine Waldron Shafer. His father died when he was 3 years old, and his great uncle, Henry Waldron, helped raise him.

He traveled extensively early in his life — in the 1920s and 1930s — with his mother, grandparents, and brothers in touring cars to places like the Bennington Battle Monument in Vermont, the Ashokan and Gilboa dams, and Niagara Falls.

In 1921, Mr. Shafer’s mother moved the entire family by horse and wagon to West Township, now known as Knox. The party was comprised of his brothers, George and Howard, and his grandparents, George and Elizabeth (née Saddlemire) Waldron.

Mr. Shafer was 5 years old when he arrived in Knox, and attended School District 2 in the town. Growing up, he learned skills that would serve him well in life: harvesting and bundling oats when he was 6, and using a horse and plow by age 11.

By the time he was 12, Mr. Shafer was working at another farm in Gallupville over the summer. At age 16, he had found work at the Knox Cave Skating Rink. He did roof work, and also set up electric lights and wooden steps inside the cave.

When the Great Depression hit the Hilltowns, Mr. Shafer was only 17 years old. He began working at a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Tannersville. He cleared forests in order to set up a fire tower at a camp.

In the late 1930s, Mr. Shafer returned to work on a farm. His own farm on the Bozenkill had been left fallow for a decade, and again he found himself clearing fields.

He loved working with his team of horses, Ned and Ted, and was a kind and patient trainer. He found it difficult to have to change from horsepower to machines as time went on.  He also raised a small herd of cattle on his farm.

Mr. Shafer and his wife, Elsie (née Bradt) Shafer, had four children: Raymond Jr., Loren Sr., Richard, and Lucille.  He had many tales of coon hunting in the “Bozy” with his sons and their dog, Tip, traveling by the light of a lantern into the steep ravine of the Bozenkill Creek. He also enjoyed hunting deer.

Later, Mr. Shafer married  Shirley (née Barber) Shafer. Together they raised their daughter, Paula, and his stepdaughter, Donna Heath. He loved his wife very much, and took care of her in old age when she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr. Shafer wore many hats. He was a school bus driver for Duanesburg Central School. In the 1950s, he helped farmers switch over to new machinery, and later worked for the New York State Thruway Authority. He worked his way up in the New York State Department of Transportation as a supervisor of highways. He also continued to farm, and he mowed and baled hay for other farmers with his brother, sons, and nephews.

In 1960, he built his own home on Middle Road in Knox.

Mr. Shafer enjoyed talking politics. He followed the Republican Party and was a member of the Conservative Party in the 1950s. He also enjoyed stock-car racing and baseball games.

In the winter, he would ice fish with his brother, Howard, and, in the summer, he would fish at Duane Lake and Thompson’s Lake. He would camp at Thompson’s Lake in the summer and go square-dancing at Township Grange Hall.

Throughout his life, he enjoyed gardening — planting potatoes, pumpkins, and onions. People came from as far away as Lake George to purchase his produce and hear his stories. He loved history and could weave it in while telling his own life story.

Mr. Shafer continued to sell produce until he was 98, and his favorite customers paid him a visit on his 100th birthday on Oct. 18, 2015.

Also on his 100th birthday, friends and family gave him a gift: a compilation of stories of his life written in a book. He now could look back on his legacy of hard work, loving family, and good friends and neighbors.

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Raymond F. Shafer Sr. is survived by his children, Raymond Shafer Jr. and his wife, Eileen, Richard Shafer, Lucille Kellie and her husband, Robert, and Paula Shafer, and her husband, Bernard; and by many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

His son, Loren Shafer Sr., died before him, as well as his wife, Shirley Shafer; and his brothers, George Shafer, and Howard Shafer.

The family thanks Reverend Timothy Van Heest, the Knox Reformed Church, neighbors, friends, family and caretakers, and especially his long-term caretaker and family friend, Jan Dano.

Calling hours were on Wednesday, April 12, at the Fredendall Funeral Homes, 199 Main Street, Altamont. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 13, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will take place later this spring at Grove Cemetery in Delanson.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Knox Reformed Church, 2175 Berne-Altamont Rd., Knox, NY 12009.