Sally Fester and her husband, Dennis, are seen here in happier times. Dennis went missing Tuesday in Buffalo Township during his afternoon walk. He was found later that night and died Wednesday from hypothermia.

The wife of a Buffalo Township man who died early Wednesday of hypothermia after he went missing Tuesday remembered her husband as a family man who read the Bible daily.

Police began searching for Dennis Fester, 74, Tuesday afternoon. According to his wife, Sally Fester, Dennis took his usual afternoon walk Tuesday from their house on the 100 block of Clubhouse Drive in Sarver. She said he must have gotten sidetracked and fallen into a ravine that was about 100 feet deep.

His wife and others looked for him, but he wasn't discovered until authorities employed search dogs later that night.

“I'm devastated. I'm kind of just going through the motions,” Fester said. The two were married for 47 years. “I'm just trying to move along and get this all done with.”Reports from Butler County 911 police dispatch center noted that Fester had a form of dementia.Buffalo Township police confirmed that Fester was found late Tuesday. Police said that he was transferred to an Allegheny County hospital, where he died.Fester said her husband suffered head injuries in the fall.According to the Allegheny Office of the Medical Examiner, Fester died at 12:08 a.m. Wednesday at Allegheny General Hospital. The office determined his cause of death was hypothermia. His death was ruled an accident.Buffalo Township Police declined to comment.Fester said she met Dennis in New York 47 years ago. She said her husband is originally from the South Buffalo Township area.The two lived in the Washington, D.C., metro area, where he worked as a data programmer for 33 years before they moved back to the area 14 years ago.Fester said her husband was retired and spent his time reading daily, especially the Bible, and he also made art.“He was a family man, and he was strong in his faith,” she said. “He loved his family and grandchildren.”Sally said they had four children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.She also noted that funeral arrangements were made at Redmond Funeral Home in Freeport for this weekend.

Sally Fester shared this photo of her husband, Dennis, who went missing Tuesday in Buffalo Township during his afternoon walk. Dennis was found later that day and died Wednesday from hypothermia.