SLINGERLANDS — Kenneth E. Hallenbeck worked many different jobs and lived in many different places but was rooted in the love of his wife and their six children and in his lifelong love of music.

He died on Friday, April 21, 2023. He was 87.

“He was truthful and happy-go-lucky,” said his wife of 65 years, Olive Hallenbeck.

Born in Rotterdam to the late Stanley D. Hallenbeck and Marie (née Millet) Hallenbeck, he taught himself to play the guitar when he was a child.

“He was a natural. He didn’t take any lessons.” said Mrs. Hallenbeck.

As a child, Mr Hallenbeck went to the one-room schoolhouse at Parkers Corners. He left Draper High School in the 10th grade to help support his family.

“He had to go to work … the family was scraping everything together to live,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck.

When he was old enough, Mr. Hallenbeck volunteered to serve in the United States Army. He completed basic training at Fort Dix and then was stationed on Long Island. Since he was from New York state, he wanted to see more of the world, his wife said, and volunteered to be stationed in Alaska.

“He loved it there. He always thought he’d go back but we had six kids,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck.

“When he got out of the service, he thought he had a girlfriend waiting for him but it didn’t happen,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck. “His buddies introduced him to me.”

Their first outing — a group trip for ice cream — was followed up by a phone call, asking for a date. Mrs. Hallenbeck told him she wasn’t available but he phoned two weeks later, asking her to roller skate. She didn’t own skates but said yes anyway and they went to the Knox Cave rink.

“I was a country girl, not very worldly. He came out of Alaska and knew what he was doing,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck.

That first date was in October. At Easter, he gave her what she thought was a box of candy. It had a diamond ring inside.

“Ken held up a guitar,” Mrs. Hallenbeck recalled, “and said, ‘If you marry me, you get my guitar too.’” She said yes.

Mrs. Hallenbeck was 19 when they married the following August. Six children followed in quick succession.

Mrs. Hallenbeck described her husband as a “very devoted” father. His advice to their children was, “You don’t tell any lies or fibs.”

His advice to her, when their kids were teens, was, “You be quiet and just listen ’cause you’re going to find out more that way.”

Mr. Hallenbeck began his career as a ceramic tile setter at Altamont Tile. “He learned that trade from the bottom up,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck. He worked as a tile setter at a half-dozen places, including The Tile Man in Albany from which he retired in 1998.

The Hallenbecks’ first home was in Voorheesville on Route 85A. In 1971, the family moved to Woodstock Road in Westerlo. Mr. Hallenbeck enjoyed the country setting and took their children fishing, hunting, and snowmobiling, his wife said.

The Hallenbecks next moved to Delmar and then, with just their youngest child, moved to Florida for two-and-a-half years before returning to upstate New York.

The Hallenbecks then lived in Esperance for 22 years before moving to Blackbird Estates in Slingerlands.

“We bought and sold eight times,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck. “I never really unpacked the boxes.” She always packed the beds last so they would be the first off the moving van.

A constant through Mr. Hallenback’s life, despite all the moves, was his music. He started his professional career by answering a newspaper ad that said simply “Bass player needed.”

“This was when country was country,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck. “He walked in with an electric bass.”

When those auditioning him balked — “they were just yokels,” said Mrs. Hallenbeck — he convinced them to listen. Not only did Mr. Hallenbck get the gig, the lead guitarist, Ray Evans, played with Mr. Hallenbeck for 20 years.

Mr. Hallenbeck played in many groups throughout the area, most recently in The Tri-County Banjo Band and The Nashville Sounds. Mr. Hallenbeck was well known for calling round and square dances.

Many of the places he played, like Meads Tavern in Clarksville, Picard’s Grove in New Scotland, or Osterhout’s in the Hilltowns are now closed, Mrs. Hallenbeck said. “Most places have been sold and developed,” she said.

“He played birthday parties, pig roasts, clambakes — you name it, he played there,” Mrs. Hallenbeck said.

“I was the manager. I carried an appointment book. We booked year to year for New Year’s Eve from the 1960s to the ’80s.”

Her husband played mostly country songs but also waltz tunes, she said. Her favorite is “Young Love.”

Mrs. Hallenbeck concluded of her husband, “He was such a gem to live with … We have 16 grandchildren — they all married — and soon-to-be 12 great-grandchildren; there’s one on the way. Included in this is two sets of twins.”

“Whether hunting and fishing or water skiing and camping,” Mr. Hallenbeck’s family wrote in a tribute, “if Ken was outside or spending time with his family, he was happy.”

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Kenneth E. Hallenbeck is survived by his devoted wife of 65 years, Olive (née Wright) Hallenbeck, and by his children, Mark Hallenbeck; Everett Hallenbeck and his wife, Georgia; Veronica “Ronnie” Guerrette and her husband, Joseph; Wayne Hallenbeck and his wife, Joan; Jennifer Nicoletta and her husband, Gavin; and Esther LaBelle and her husband, Kenneth.

He is also survived by 15 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; his brother-in-law, Lawrence Wolcott; and his sister-in-law, Carol Hallenbeck, as well as by many nieces and nephews.

His parents, Stanley D. Hallenbck and Marie (née Millet) Hallenbeck, died before him, as did his siblings, Carolyn Wolcott and Donald Hallenbeck, and one grandchild, Everett Hallenbeck.

Relatives and friends are invited to pay their respects on Friday, April 28, from noon to 1 p.m. at the DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home at 5216 Western Tpke. in Guilderland. A service honoring his life will begin at 1 p.m. Burial with military honors will follow at Esperance Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the New Salem Volunteer Fire Department, 694 New Salem Rd., Voorheesville, NY 12186 or to a volunteer fire department of one’s choice.

His family extends a special thanks to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance and support during the past year.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer