Richard Clayton Tardiff, 65, formerly of New Hartford and Whitesboro, N.Y., died April 3, 2023.

Affectionately known as “Pop,” he was born in 1927, on a family farm in Clinton, Maine, the youngest of eight children.

His parents were Euphemie (Ouelette) and Amable Tardiff.

He began his formal education in a one-room country school house.

A born inventor, as a youth, he built a go-cart by rigging a washing machine motor to a bicycle and also took an early selfie by rigging a string to a camera and operating it with his big toe.

After graduating as salutatorian of his high school in 1945, he enlisted in the Navy.

He went to college on the GI Bill and, in 1950, graduated from the University of Maine as an engineer.

Eventually, he obtained his Master’s degree from Syracuse University.

He spent the majority of his career working for General Electric on top secret space projects during the Cold War.

Two of his projects were the Atlas and the Corona, now an exhibit in the Smithsonian.

In his personal time, he greatly enjoyed farming his suburban backyard, as well as acres of land outside of town.

He often invented things he needed - such as a baby carrier, 20 years before they became available on the mass market.

With his background in farming and engineering, he could grow anything, build anything and fix anything.

In 1951, he married Teresa King at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Fairfield, Maine.

Their happy, fruitful marriage lasted until her death in 1991.

Together, they loved and sacrificed for eight children, living simply to provide for their education.

He and their children took care of his wife and their mother through her long illness.

After her death, he married a widow, Louise Albergine, and had a happy marriage with her until her death in 2000. He is survived by his devoted children Jonathan (Evangeline) of Portland, Ore., Benjamin (Mary Jean) of Post Falls, Idaho, Gregory of Sylvan Beach, N.Y., Daniel (Maryann) of Willard, Kan., Jane Zingelman of Whitehall, Mary Ellen (Bill) Doherty of Merrimack, N.H., Andrew (Abby) of Coventry, R.I. and Susan (Greg) Lloyd of Whitehall; 35 grandchildren; and 44 great-grandchildren, so far.

A lifelong Catholic, he prayed with Teresa and endured much to pass along the faith.

One of their joint projects was St. Michael’s Catechetical Center, in which they and some close friends taught the Baltimore Catechism every Sunday for 12 years.

He lived a full life in mind, body and spirit.

He took flying lessons as a college student and became a private pilot.

He studied the history of the French Canadian people and extensively researched his family genealogy.

He enjoyed making translations from French and Latin.

Always with a song in his heart, he sang in Latin Mass choirs and played guitar to entertain residents in nursing homes.

His voice was light and pleasing even to the end of his life.

His children remember him playing piano every evening before supper in their childhood.

He knew countless religious hymns and folk songs and delighted his grandchildren especially with “The Big Rock Candy Mountain.”

He also wrote poetry, stories and sent his children funny letters.

Later in life, when he started to get dementia, he joked that his memoirs would be called, “All the Things that I Forgot,” and the first hundred pages would be blank.

He was always ready to ham it up for an audience when singing or telling a story but otherwise was a quiet unassuming man who never drew attention to himself.

He spent his final days being cared for by his loving children and grandchildren in Whitehall.

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. (Proverbs 13:22).

His wake will be from 4-6 p.m. April 13 at Keller Funeral Home, 1018 Church St., Fogelsville.

Sung Latin Requiem Mass will be 9 a.m. April 15 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 5652 E. Main St, Verona, N.Y. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Whitesboro, N.Y.

Condolences may be offered to the family at kellerfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, consider sending a donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Doctors Without Borders, or to the National Coalition of Clergy and Laity, c/o the funeral home, P.O. Box 52, Fogelsville, PA 18051.