FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): A local entrepreneur has died.

Jim Shields, founder of WaterFurnace, passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 93. The Buffalo, NY native founded WaterFurnace Renewable Energy Inc. in 1983.

He served on the Memorial Coliseum’s board of trustees for 26 years, and was a major donor to the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, the University of St. Francis, and IPFW.

The Journal Gazette reports he was also a World War 2 veteran and served on the boards of the St. Anne Home and the Journal Gazette itself.