CAIRO — For more than four decades, Robert Hempstead traversed the roads of Greene County and town of Cairo as a beloved member of two highway departments, working for the county agency for 37 years before winning the superintendent post in Cairo.
On Tuesday, the long-time public servant, whose thick brush mustache became his signature, died at the age of 68. The cause was given as heart disease.
His surviving family includes his wife Cathy and three children, Gwen, Joanie and Robert.
Greene County Legislator William Lawrence, a longtime friend of Hempstead, paid tribute to him on Wednesday.
“He was a stand-up guy,” Lawrence said. “If he had your back, you could count on that. There was no in-between. He was never wishy-washy, he was always straightforward. He was a dedicated person to his profession and to his friends and family.”
Lawrence, who taught in the Cairo-Durham Central School District for 35 years, originally met Hempstead in 1980 when the latter’s children attended the school.
“I knew the man and he loved highway work,” Lawrence said. “He was even hired by Cornell Cooperative Extension to teach other superintendents how to do road work. He did that for three or four years and went all over New York State giving his expertise to newly-elected superintendents.”
Hempstead began working for the Greene County Highway Department in 1981 before retiring in 2008. But Hempstead could not resist the lure of the road, as he went on to run twice for the highway superintendent post in Cairo starting in 2011, winning election both times before he retired at the end of 2019.
“He probably would have won re-election again if he ran for a third time but I think his wife would have divorced him,” Former Cairo Supervisor Dan Benoit said with a laugh. “He was uniquely dedicated to his job. He was always proud of the fact that he was asked to teach at Cornell. He died too soon.”
Hempstead was known around the county for his trademark bushy mustache, which Lawrence noted was always impeccably groomed.
“I saw him a little bit more than a week ago and he looked as fit as ever,” Lawrence said. “I was shocked when I heard that he had a heart attack out of nowhere. There’s none in his family history that I knew of and I knew both his mother and father. I’m still reeling from the fact that he’s gone.”
Hempstead was known for working around the clock, usually hitting the road as highway foreman for the county at 4:00 a.m. to make sure Greene roads were cleared for the morning commute.
“He was very meticulous,” Lawrence said. “He would never do a job and leave it half-assed. He always made sure it could be done as perfectly as it could be done. Sometimes it took him longer than people wanted, but it was done right. That was true for the Town of Cairo and the county.”
According to Benoit, that work ethic continued during Hempstead’s eight-year stint as Highway Superintendent in Cairo.
“Bob was very dedicated to the town,” Benoit said. “He spent countless hours driving the roads and seeing what problems were out there that needed to be fixed on the highways. He always stayed right on top of whatever repair issues were needed. He would be the first one into work in the morning and the last one home at night. He was a very knowledgeable highway superintendent.”
In 1995, Hempstead was honored by the state as an Environmental Hero for his role in establishing a solid waste management program in Greene County, another part of his long history of service to the region.
“I know as a legislator, that when I couldn’t get something done through the normal channels I’d call Bob and he’d get it done if it was the right thing to do,” Lawrence said. “Sometimes he’d take grief for that, but he was willing to do that because he was so dedicated to making sure that people were safe on the roads.”