GUILDERLAND — Charles G. Yerbury is remembered as a man who would do anything for his family and who epitomized hard work.

Mr. Yerbury “was called home by Our Precious Lord” on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, his family wrote in a tribute. He was 86.

A well-known mechanic in Guilderland, he had retired, with his wife, to North Carolina.

“He was surrounded by his unwavering and loving wife, Barbara (Hohenstein) Yerbury, who never left his side during his battle with Parkinson’s,” his family wrote.

Mr. Yerbury taught his two sons, Jerry Yerbury and Scott Yerbury, respect, moral character, and the value of a hard day’s work, his family wrote.

He taught them many things, the most important being love of family, the tribute continued. His family added, “Whether it was a hug or a kiss on the cheek, he was never embarrassed to show his boys just how much he loved them.”

Mr. Yerbury liked to work with his hands, and was a mechanic by trade and a woodworker by hobby; he was self-taught and talented at both, said Mrs. Yerbury.

Charles Yerbury was born at home on Sept. 24, 1931 in North Boonton, New Jersey to Anna Lucile Yerbury and Charles Waters Yerbury Jr.

After his parents divorced, he and his mother and older sister, Jeanne, moved to Greenville Center, New York, when he was 4.

In his teenage years, Mr. Yerbury worked on the family farm with his uncle and aunt, Truman Waldron and Nellie Waldron.  

Later, Mr. Yerbury worked at the Veterans Affairs Hospital, where he met and married his first wife, the late Marion Patricia Yerbury, who also worked there.

In 1955, the couple moved to Westmere, where they raised their two sons.

Mr. Yerbury later became a store manager for Erlich’s Supply Company, on Central Avenue in Albany, which sold automotive parts.

Mr. Yerbury was a masterful mechanic who later worked for Armory Garage, his family said.

He then opened his own repair shop on Johnston Road in Guilderland, where, his family wrote, “He served the community for many years.”

The tribute continued, “His ability to repair or fabricate anything was immeasurable.”

Years after the death of his first wife, he married Barbara Yerbury in 1999. They had met when he fixed her car. The couple retired a few years later to New Bern, North Carolina, “to get away from the snow,” his wife said.

In his spare time, Mr. Yerbury liked to do woodworking. “He made bowls on a lathe,” Mrs. Yerbury recounted, as well as lazy Susans and “whirligigs that you put out in the yard and they fly in the wind.” He also made “all kinds of birds,” she said.

“Charles possessed great wisdom and a smile that could always light up a room. He will be greatly missed!” his family wrote.

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Charles G. Yerbury is survived by his wife, Barbara Yerbury; his two sons, Jerry Yerbury and his wife, Jill, and Scott Yerbury, and his wife, Deborah; his granddaughter, Nicole Stephens; and two great-grandchildren, Kyra and Riley Stephens. He is also survived by a half-sister, Irene Kral; stepchildren; cousins; and nieces and nephews.

His parents, Anna Lucile Yerbury Mac and Charles Waters Yerbury Jr., died before him, as did his sister, Jeanne (née Yerbury) Hilt.

A memorial service will be held in New York State at a later date, his wife said.

— Elizabeth Floyd Mair