A paint inspector who fell to his death down a 40-foot shaft into a dark, black pool of water at Denver International Airport Saturday was a loved family man in Windsor who had more than 30 years of experience in the contracting business, according to family members.

"Ben had a quirky sense of humor, was fun to be around and loved teasing kids," his sister Verva Enoch said. "He was very dedicated to his wife and family and was a hard worker. He was open-hearted and a good, solid upstanding citizen."

Benjamin Remley left behind a wife of 34 years, a married daughter who lives in Denver and a son in the Navy stationed in Japan. Remley owned the business, Coating Contractor Services, for two years and had more than 30 years experience in the industry working for various contractors, according to his sister.

Remley was a subcontractor for the company RK Mechanical which was the general contractor at DIA, according to OSHA.

The 54-year-old was inspecting painting and coatings on a re-lining project at the airport's heating and cooling towers on Saturday when he fell down the manhole into 38-degree water, according to Jeff Green, spokesman at DIA.

Witnesses saw him fall into the well, which has no emergency ladders, according to Green. Green says the plant, which contains the main heating and air conditioning units for the airport, were shut down during the three-hour rescue and recovery mission.

The U.S. Department of Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) was at DIA on Monday interviewing witnesses and emergency responders who fought to find and rescue Remley.

"We are taking a look at all aspects of the work and are trying to determine the facts related to this tragic accident to prevent another accident like this from happening again in the future," Herb Gibson, Director of the Denver OSHA office, said. "We are doing a comprehensive investigation to determine the cause of the accident and looking at all of the contractors."

OSHA says RK Mechanical has a "comprehensive safety and health program" and a good safety record. RK Mechanical could not be reached for comment Monday night.

DIA says it is investigating the incident. Denver Police say it's investigating it as an "industrial accident," according to police spokesman Sonny Jackson.