Richard J. "Richie" Hilgendorff

Richard John Hilgendorff, age 81, of Round Top, NY passed away peacefully in Albany Medical Center on August 10, 2024, in the company of his children Liz and RJ. Coming home to New York after being stationed in Germany serving in the United States Army, he followed his parents upstate where his family had moved, a place they vacationed often and eventually moved to. This is where he met and married his wife, Susan. Rich was a surveyor with the Operating Engineers Union, a job that led him to participate in the building of the Empire State Plaza in Albany with his brother Paul. Prior to working on that, he worked on the original Route 23, aka the “bypass” and major power lines in a section of NYS as well. For many years Rich worked along side his brother Paul after Paul started his own construction company, Hilgendorff Trucking. Rich’s entry into trucking began in Long Island, where his father, John, used to truck for Nassau County. After years of the site work business, Rich joined the Greene County Sheriff’s Department as a Correction Officer where he worked until retirement. But Rich could never sit still long so he took a job as the Building Inspector in the Town of Cairo, NY until his passing. Rich felt most comfortable behind the wheel and loved to drive pretty much everything from Mack trucks to a lawn mower. And anyone who knew Rich would see him going for his coffee every morning in town and 99% of the time he had his little West Highland terrier best buddy, Linger, sitting in the passenger seat. Rich was very active in the Round Top Fire Department where he was Chief for over 30 years. He looked at the firehouse as his second home and mentored many of the active firemen there today. Growing up Rich spent some summers on Cape Cod vacationing with family at his grandmother’s cottage and working at the gas station not far from the cottage. After getting married, Rich continued vacationing on the Cape with his family, dropping his wife and kids at a cabin they rented for 3 weeks in the summer. He would head home each Sunday and return on Friday as he had to work for the week. One summer he had purchased a small boat and drove it out there to surprise the family. Between the kids and the dogs, they got a lot of use out that boat! His love for the Cape and family continued for many years, and was so infectious that his son Rj, and his wife Gayle, ended up building a house in Brewster. Rich was there so often he wound up being their ‘on site manager’. When Sue passed, she too is resting peacefully on Cape Cod. Rich was always looking out for his family, immediate and extended, always trying to help in some form. His kids think he actually was the one that coined the term “I got a guy” because over the years no matter what they needed, he literally “had a guy”. Rich was preceded in death by his parents, John and Lillian (Hedler) Hilgendorff, his wife Susan and his brother Paul. He is survived by his children Rj (Gayle) of Freeport, ME, Liz (Anthony) of Staten Island, NY, stepdaughter Sandy (Andy) of Round Top, NY, his sister Nancy Hilgendorff (Jim Graf), his sister-in-law Sue Hilgendorff of Round Top, NY and a number of nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend calling hours at Richards Funeral Home of the Mid-Hudson Valley, Inc., 29 Bross Street, Cairo, N.Y., 12413, on Thursday, August 15, 2024, from 3:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. The Round Top Volunteer Fire Company will conduct firematic services at the funeral home at 5:00 P.M. Funeral services will take place on Friday, August 16, 2024, at 10:00 A.M. at the funeral home with Pastor Saebuek Lee of The Cairo United Methodist Church officiating. Interment will follow in the family plot of The Ashland Cemetery, 11164 N.Y. Route 23, Windham, N.Y., 12496. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to Round Top Fire Department at PO Box 61, Round Top, NY 12473 or Greene County Women’s League at PO Box 341, Round Top, NY 12473 https://greenecountywomensleague.com/ Condolences and memories may be shared at www.richardsfuneralhomeinc.net

Richard J. "Richie" Hilgendorff

January 22, 1943 - August 10, 2024