ALTAMONT — Charles Robert Armstrong, a World War II veteran who volunteered as a firefighter, died on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, at the Guilderland Center Nursing Home. He was 96.

Mr. Armstrong served in World War II from 1942 to 1945 in the Army Air Corps as a corporal in the 314th Troop Carrier Group in Central Europe.  After an honorable discharge, he returned home to work on his father’s farm.

Mr. Armstrong also worked in construction and for the Armstrong Dairy while working on his father’s farm.  When the Armstrong Dairy closed, he went to work at the Guilderland Town Highway Department as a heavy-equipment operator until his retirement.

Charles served for 60 years as a volunteer fireman for the Altamont Fire Department and was a lifetime member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Altamont.

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Mr. Armstrong was born in Altamont on Feb. 14, 1920, son to Walter and Ada (née Elston) Armstrong.  He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Ella E. Armstrong; his son Charles Thompson Armstrong and his wife, Candy, of Nashville, Tennessee; his son Allen Ward Armstrong and his wife, Donna; and his grandson Charles Ward Armstrong of Altamont; and several other grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His daughter Ella Charlayne Turner and her husband, Thomas, who had lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia died before him.

Calling hours will be held at Fredendall Funeral Home at 199 Main Street in Altamont on Thursday, Aug. 25, from 4 to 7 p.m.  Funeral services will be held at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Maple Avenue in Altamont on Friday, Aug. 26, at 1 p.m. with burial immediately following at Prospect Hill Cemetery on Western Avenue in Guilderland.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Altamont Fire Department, 115 Main Street, Altamont, NY  12009, or to St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Post Office Box 770, Altamont, NY  12009.