RENSSELAEERVILLE — Howard A. Bolster could grow, make, or fix just about anything. Indeed, Mr. Bolster was renowned in the Hilltowns for his mechanical ingenuity.

His daughter, Barbara, vividly recalls the snowblower he made from scratch when she was a child. He fabricated this equipment without any plans whatsoever.

Mr. Bolster was good-natured, singularly charming — he particularly enjoyed female company — and could spin stories for hours.

He died at St. Peter’s Community Hospice late Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. He was 87.

He was born at home in Rensselaerville to the late Asher and Elizabeth M. Bolster. His twin brother, Harold, died at birth.

Mr. Bolster completed his grammar-school education at School District 19 on West Mountain in Berne and at Rensselaerville Academy. A natural and gifted student, Mr. Bolster was unable to pursue higher education as he was required to work on the family farm. He remained in contact with his beloved teacher, Mrs. Gladys Cornell, until her death in 2003.

After the family farm was sold in the late 1960s, Mr. Bolster worked in the maintenance department at the Albany County Correctional Facility for several years. He then worked on grounds and maintenance at the former Rensselaerville Institute on Man and Science, now the Carey Institute for Global Good, until his retirement.

During that time, he also established and ran a home bake shop specializing in pizza and bread with his former wife, Francine.

He married Francine Zenaide Mead at his family home on April 15, 1954. They have since divorced.

He retired to Paris, Tennessee in 1991 with his beloved companion, Anna Albohn. They resided there together for the next 20 years until her death.

Mr. Bolster moved back to upstate New work after a health concern in the spring of 2016.

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Howard A. Bolster is survived by his sister, Carrie Beisler, and her husband, Richard, of Ocala, Florida; by his daughter, Barbara Husek, and her husband, Vernon, of Rensselaerville; by his grandsons, Brendan A. Barrett of Colonie and William E. Bolster-Barrett of Paris, Tennessee; and by his granddaughter, Bethany Barrett, and her fiancé, Joseph Yannotti, of Glens Falls; and by his great-granddaughter, Esther Francine Lee of Glens Falls.

He is also survived by a nephew, Erik Beisler of Ocala, Florida, and by his step daughter, Jayme-anna Woodard and her husband, Alan, of Jacksonville, North Carolina.

The family will hold a “Fond Remembrance” for Mr. Bolster in October.