EAST BERNE — Robert A. Warner, a quiet man with a love for his friends and family, died on Friday, June 30, 2017. He was 86.

Mr. Warner was born on Feb. 1, 1931, to Camille (née Gallup) and Chester Warner, in East Berne. At the age of 6, he and his family moved to Warner’s Lake Farm, on Warner Lake, where he began working alongside his family, despite his young age, said his wife, Wilma Kelly Warner. Their son, Christopher Warner, said his father used horses to carry hay in carts, which was cut by hand with scythes.

One day, as Mr. Warner guided a horse down an embankment, the horse slipped and landed on him, said Mrs. Warner. At only 10 years old, he was easily pinned by the horse, and so his father picked him up and carried him to the farmhouse. When he brought him there, his father, a man of few words, simply said, “This young’un needs a piece of shortcake.”

Mr. Warner graduated from the Berne-Knox-Westerlo school district in 1949. He then joined the National Guard, and, when the Korean War began, enlisted in in the United States Army. He patrolled the Korean Demilitarized Zone that divided North and South Korea during that time.

Mr. Warner first arrived in Korea, said his wife, in Busan, South Korea, and took a train to the DMZ.

“He was the only American on the train,” said Mrs. Warner, who pondered how her husband found his way off the train without knowing Korean.

Mr. Warner  drove trucks for the Army. But he had to be cautious. At one point, he and another soldier became lost, and were afraid of being shot by either side before they found their way back to their base.

When the war was over, Mr. Warner served for another year in the National Guard before returning home in 1955.

Back home, Mr. Warner’s brother and the sister of his future wife set up the couple on a blind date. They were married five months later, in 1957, staying together for almost 60 years, their marriage only ending with his death.

The couple moved into a 24-by-24-foot summer cabin on Simons Road that had been winterized by George Horning Sr., who had used the cabin while building his own home. Mr. Warner also began building his family a new home.

He would often go to Charlie Haluska, to ask for help. Mr. Haluska would instead teach Mr. Warner to build something on his own. When Mr. Warner had finished building his house, Mr. Haluska asked him to join his construction company as a carpenter. Mr. Warner worked there until he retired.

“He loved it,” said Mrs. Warner, of the carpentry. “He remodeled my kitchen six times.”

Mr. Warner also crafted a doll crib for his daughter when she was 2 years old, she said. After he retired, he would do carpentry and odd jobs for elderly neighbors at a low cost, she said.

Mr. Warner taught his son to work with machinery, drive a stick shift, and chop wood. He later taught his 5-year-old grandson, Logan, to stack wood. Mrs. Warner also recalls how Logan tried to mimic his grandfather; when Mr. Warner was remodeling a room, Logan learned to use his tools and carved a hole in the wall at age 4.

Mr. Warner was a charter member of the East Berne Fire Company. He also was one of the first people to use the Berne Public Library. His wife said he used to ask the librarian to order three books at a time for him because of his love of history and other nonfiction books.

He and his wife also enjoyed vacationing in Rockport, Massachusetts, where he would visit a historic ship-building shop and walk along the beach looking for shells.

“He enjoyed it, especially if there was a storm,” said Mrs. Warner, describing how he liked to see the waves come up so far they reached the town. “One time he got so close [to the water], the police chased him away,” she added.

The couple enjoyed traveling, including to his son’s college in Florida and to Clarkson University in Potsdam where his daughter studied.

“We braved the black flies every spring,” remarked Mrs. Warner.

Mr. Warner also enjoyed watching sports, including the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing races, baseball, and football.

He also was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in the Helderbergs.

“He’s the one that kept me going to church,” noted his wife, who said her husband attended church until he was unable to.

Although he was quiet, his wife said that Mr. Warner was grateful for his friends and family, and made his appreciation known.

****

Mr. Warner is survived by his wife, Wilma Kelly Warner; his daughter, Nancy Warner; his son, Christopher Warner, and his wife, Marnie Warner; his brother, Homer Warner, and his wife, Sandy Warner; his sister, Mary Bassler; his grandchildren, Michael Warner, Joshua Warner, Andrea Warner, Logan Warner, Amanda Houghtaling, and Justin Lee; his great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

His parents, Camille (née Gallup) Warner and Chester Warner, died before him; as did his brother, Carl Warner; his sons, Chester W. Warner, and Matthew Warner; and his father-in-law, William Kelly.

Calling hours were held at Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont on Sunday, July 2, 2017. A funeral service was held at the Helderberg Lutheran Church in Berne on Monday, July 3, with an interment immediately following at the Westerlo Rural Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the town of Berne Library, 1763 Helderberg Trail, Berne, New York 12023.

— H. Rose Schneider