Earl L. Ostrander Jr.

Earl L. Ostrander Jr. - Duanesburg
Earl L. Ostrander Jr, 90, Passed away peacefully at his home on September 2, 2022 surrounded by his loving family. Earl was born in Duanesburg, a son of the late Earl and Mildred (Crounse) Ostrander Sr. and was the devoted husband of Patricia (Smith) Ostrander.

In addition to his wife, Pat, Earl is survived by his children Patricia (Craig) Russell, Anna (Russell) Fidler, Agnes (Randy) Mallory and his daughter-in-law Tawney Ostrander; his grandchildren Jennifer and David Fidler and Jason and Brian Mallory. Earl was the brother-in-law of Emily Filmore and George Smith and is also survived by several nieces,nephews, cousins and friends. In addition to his parents, Earl was predeceased by his son Earl L. “Bucky” Ostrander III who died in 2020 and his brother Robert C. Ostrander.

Earl was born in Duanesburg N.Y on May 15^th, 1932. While growing up, Earl worked with his father on the family farm logging, milking cows, and bailing and delivering hay. He attended Draper High School.

While delivering hay to Locast Grove Dairy in Ballston Spa, he met the daughter of Casper and Anna Smith, Pat.  She became the love of his life, and they married in 1961 enjoying over 60 years together. They briefly moved to White Hall, NY, and welcomed the birth of his first daughter Patty. Returning to Duanesburg, Earl and Pat added to their family with the birth of their second daughter Anna. Several years later they grew their family again.  While out delivering milk, Pat went into labor.  He insisted on taking her to the hospital before finishing their milk run. When he returned to the hospital, he had an unexpected surprise.  He thought he was going to meet his third bundle of joy and found out that there were in fact two babies waiting to meet him. The “twins”, Earl III “Bucky” and Agnes completed the family.

While in White Hall, Earl drove Yuke dump trucks and made frequent trips back to the farm to help with the hay. Back in Duanesburg, he and his wife carried on Locust Grove Dairy and its milk delivery business from his father-in-law Casper Smith. Additionally, Earl started his own business Ostrander Trucking, adding both Duane Septic and Kings Midway over its time of operation.  After many years of working, he retired and passed the trucking business on to Bucky.

As the kids grew up, he started welcoming his soon-to-be in-laws into the family.  Son-in-law Craig was the first to be taught the joys of farming.  He enjoyed talking all things farming with son in law Russ.  He taught son-in-law Randy the proper way to stack hay in a haymow. His daughter-in-law Tawney would keep a watchful eye on him and provided entertaining stories for him to listen to.  

His grandchildren gave him so much pride and joy.  He would light up each time his granddaughter Jennifer would walk in to see him.  He felt blessed that his grandson David carried on his family excavation business.  He would always smile and say ‘Hi Red” to his grandson Jason.  He was overjoyed when his grandson Brian asked him if he could have his Farmall H tractor.

Earl enjoyed travelling and farming while in retirement. He traveled up and down the east coast, spending time with friends such as Dale and June in Florida.  He also traveled west with his wife, daughter Patty, and son in law Craig to visit locations such as Mount Rushmore, Old Faithful, and Custer’s Last Stand.  In recent years, he enjoyed family gatherings and visiting with many friends. 

Visitation will be held on Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Fredendall Funeral Home, Altamont, followed by a graveside service in the Ostrander Family Cemetery, Duanesburg. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Northeast Kidney Foundation, 22 Colvin Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 would be appreciated.