Charles G. Blackstock became friends with many of the customers on his milk delivery route.

"It was nothing for him to walk in and put the milk away in the fridge itself," said Richard Martin, of Irwin, whose childhood home was on Mr. Blackstock's route. "He was just a fixture. He was [like] part of the family."

Mr. Blackstock, of West View, a popular milkman for Otto Suburban Dairy, died last Thursday of pneumonia. He was 93 and was living in Evergreen Nursing Center in Harmony.

Mr. Blackstock, who went by the nickname "Blackie," rose at 4 a.m. six days a week and worked 10 to 12 hours a day to deliver milk to his 225 customers in Coraopolis, Moon and Neville Island.

His friendly nature turned customers into friends, said his son, John L. Blackstock, of St. Charles, Mo., who sometimes accompanied his father to work and recalled him whistling and singing as he drove.

"He was incredibly popular. Everybody knew Blackie. ... He gave everybody a little bit of time and never missed greeting and talking to people," he said.

Customers also appreciated his work ethic. "Through thick and thin, he never missed a day, as I recall. During the big snow of 1950, he basically shoveled his way to work," his son said.

On one cold, wet day, Mr. Blackstock ducked into a small Coraopolis restaurant for a bowl of soup. The waitress remarked that he looked poorly and shared her cure for the common cold: a shot of brandy and two aspirin.

For the rest of his life, Mr. Blackstock shared that cure with anyone who would listen. Often he dispensed his wisdom from a bar stool in Cammarata's Cafe in West View, where he was a beloved regular.

Owner Angelo Cammarata is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest-serving bartender, and Mr. Blackstock enjoyed the distinction of being Mr. Cammarata's oldest customer. Their friendship dated back to 1935.

Mr. Blackstock was born in Vandergrift and spent the latter part of his childhood on his family's dairy farm in Greenville, Crawford County. He graduated from Fredonia High School and worked for a sheet metal company before taking his first delivery job with Sewickley Dairy.

He was a self-taught musician who played the banjo, guitar and mandolin and performed in local clubs during the Depression to earn extra cash.

He retired from the dairy business when he turned 65, but his retirement didn't last long. He soon took a part-time job as a truck driver for Purolater and continued working until he was 70, after which he enjoyed golf and traveling.

His wife, Alice M. Blackstock, died in 1999. In addition to his son, he is survived by a daughter, Charlene A. Peffer, of Harmony; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

A funeral was held Monday in Schellhaas Funeral Home in West View. Burial was in Allegheny County Memorial Park in McCandless.