PHOTO PROVIDED Steve Sheetz, left, stands beside his brother Bob, middle, and nephew Stan Sheetz, right. Steve passed away Sunday night at UPMC Altoona.

ALTOONA — Steve Sheetz, an Altoona native whose leadership is credited for growing the Sheetz Corporation into a convenience store empire, has died.

He was 77.

Sheetz passed away from respiratory complications at UPMC Altoona on Sunday evening.

He had been in the Cleveland Clinic with pneumonia for two weeks but was able to return to his Altoona home on Christmas Eve before being hospitalized at UPMC last Sunday, Dec. 28.

Sheetz was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011 and had fought the effects of that since.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy, daughters Megan and Nikki, seven grandchildren and six siblings — brothers Jim, Bob, Charlie and Lou and sisters,Nancy Boling and Marjorie Folcarelli. Another brother, Joe, died in 2006.

Members of the Sheetz family offered comments regarding his passing in a press release Monday morning.

“Above all, Uncle Steve was the center of our family,” said Sheetz President/CEO Travis Sheetz. “We are so deeply grateful for his leadership, vision, and steadfast commitment to our employees, customers, and communities.”

“Steve’s guidance shaped nearly every aspect of our family business,” said Joe Sheetz, Chairman of the Sheetz Board of Directors. “He was a mentor for every leader who has followed him and his vision, wisdom, and entrepreneurial spirit will be missed deeply by everyone at Sheetz.”

He graduated from Altoona High School in 1965 and Penn State in 1969.

The third-youngest of eight children, Steve followed his brother and company founder Bob — who was 14 years older — into the Sheetz business.

Since its launch in 1952, the Sheetz Corporation has roared into its third generation with more than 800 stores across seven states (Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Michigan) and 25,000-plus employees.

After Bob transitioned into retirement, Steve became the company’s president and CEO in 1984 and remained in that capacity until 1996 when he became the chairman of the board and then chairman of the Sheetz Family Council.

He was the first Sheetz to become president of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACs), and was then followed by nephews Stan (Bob’s son) and Joe (Joe’s son).

In addition to his business success, Sheetz championed philanthropy. He and his wife, Nancy, are the largest donors in Penn State Altoona history, having committed $38 million through 2030 via the Sheetz Fellows scholarship program.

Sheetz also provided leadership gifts to numerous local charities, most notably the Pennsylvania Special Olympics, the Mishler Theatre, St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen, Central Pennsylvania Humane Society, Blair County Historical Society, Operation Our Town, Altoona Rotary Club, Blair County Sports Hall of Fame and the ARC of Blair County, which has a building named after his brother Charlie’s late wife, Becky.

Steve is survived by his wife, Nancy, their two daughters, Megan Sheetz (Trevor Price) and Nicole Sheetz Frith (Brint Frith), and seven grandchildren.