SCHAGHTICOKE -   Mark William Degener, 56, died Thursday, June 26, 2014 at home with his loving family by his side.  He was the husband of Kimberly A. (Mead) Degener.

Born Tuesday, February 18, 1958 in Troy, he was the second child of Robert William Degener of Melrose and the late Anna Delight (Keller) Degener.

Mark grew up on the family farm in Schaghticoke.  An enterprising young man, he raised cows and saved his earnings for college.  He earned a BS degree from Sienna College after graduating from Hoosic Valley High School, class of 1976.

For over 20 years, Mark has been a governmental accountant, working for Rensselaer County One Stop in Troy.

He spent many hours training dogs and working with children as a volunteer with the Rensselaer County 4-H, where he was known as “the hot dog man”.  It was at a dog training session that he and Kim met.  It was love at first sight.  They were married January 1, 1999.

He liked to go fishing though he never caught a fish; was a wiz at building computers but hated cell phones and had a passion for lawn mowers and tractors.

He was a wonderful, compassionate man with a great sense of humor and will be missed by all.

Along with his wife and father, he is survived by a step-son Christian Stanzione-Degener of Schaghticoke; three siblings, Gary (Sandra) Degener of Mechanicville, Karen (Bernard) Cukrovany of Melrose and Kurt (Donna) Degener of Porter Corners; mother-in-law Patricia (Olsen) Mead of Mechanicville and several nieces, nephews and their families.

Friends and relatives are invited to call on Sunday, June 29, 2014 from 2 to 5 PM at Hoosic Valley Community Church, 2024 State Route 40, Schaghticoke. The funeral will begin at 5 PM.

The family requests donations in Mark’s memory be made to Rensselaer County 4-H with checks made to:  Rensselaer County CCE, 61 State Street, Troy, NY 12180.

Arrangements are under the direction of Ackley & Ross Funeral Home, Cambridge, NY.  Please visit www.ackleyrossfuneralhome to share a memory or leave a condolence.