Robert DeForge

Robert DeForge Sr., 81, of Charleston, a longtime Staten Islander, retired gas station owner and mechanic, U.S. Navy veteran and family man, died Monday at home.

Born and raised in Winooski, Vt., he attended from Cathedral High School in Burlington, Vt.

Mr. DeForge served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1955. A seaman, he saw duty aboard the USS Macomb, a minesweeper.

After his honorable discharge, he lived in New Jersey for a time and graduated from Lincoln Technical College in Newark.

He and Joyce Young wed in 1965 and settled in Charleston.

A hardworking auto mechanic, Mr. DeForge owned and operated Post Flying A service station in Port Richmond for 21 years. He retired in 1986.

He was very helpful and courteous to people and treated them fairly, said his son, Robert Jr. That's how he stayed in business so long.

Mr. DeForge was friendly and fun to be with, his son added. He enjoyed going back to Vermont to fish in his favorite lake. And after retiring, he did a lot of home improvement projects, working on everyone else's home, and enjoyed being with his grandchildren.

Surviving, along with Joyce, his wife of 50 years, and his son, Robert Jr., are his brother, Joseph Cota; his sisters, Alice Morris, Beatrice Monroe and Shirley Posada, and two grandchildren.

The funeral service will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, Tottenville. Burial will follow in Ocean View Cemetery, Oakwood.

Services: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Thursday, December 24, 2015 10:00AM

Visitation: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Wednesday, December 23, 2015 6-9PM

Cemetery: Ocean View Cemetery

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home