Stephen G. Sheetz, who helped transform a family business from a single convenience store in Altoona, Pa., into a ubiquitous chain with fierce brand loyalties, popular for its coffee, made-to-order food and cheap gasoline, died on Sunday at 77.
His death was confirmed on Monday by the Sheetz company, which said Mr. Sheetz died from respiratory complications at UPMC Altoona after being hospitalized with pneumonia.
Mr. Sheetz led the convenience store chain as chief executive and president from 1984 to 1995, presiding over the company’s expansion. From 1995 to 2013, he was the board chairman.
What began in 1952 as Sheetz Kwik Shopper, a modest convenience store opened by his older brother Bob Sheetz in their hometown, multiplied over the decades into a major chain. Its success resembled that of another Pennsylvania institution that occupies a similar space and has competed for customers’ loyalties: Wawa.
Sheetz expanded from 14 locations in 1972 to 100 in 1983, offering customers the ability to pump their own gas.
Known for its touch-screen kiosks for ordering and its emphasis on clean restrooms, the chain now has more than 800 convenience stores in seven states, including Michigan, where it opened its first location in 2024. As of 2025, Sheetz had electric-vehicle charging stations at least 100 sites.
“Steve’s guidance shaped nearly every aspect of our family business,” Joe Sheetz, one of Mr. Sheetz’s nephews and the company’s current chairman, said in a statement on Monday.
Born on Jan. 7, 1948, in Altoona, which is about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, Mr. Sheetz was the third-youngest of eight siblings. He began working part time at his brother’s convenience store when he was 12 years old, according to his biography, which said he graduated from Penn State in 1969 with a degree in business management.
In 2010, Penn State named Mr. Sheetz and his wife, Nancy Sheetz, as its philanthropists of the year, one year after the couple pledged $2.5 million to Penn State Altoona, the largest donation at the time in the 70-year history of the campus. The couple increased their commitment to $3 million in 2010, funding the creation of an entrepreneurial center and a Sheetz Fellows program.
“I try to provide a positive influence,” Mr. Sheetz said at the time in a university news release. “I really hope that students in the program will be better prepared for the world they’re about to enter, whether it’s business or another profession.”
In addition to his wife, Mr. Sheetz is survived by two daughters, Megan Sheetz and Nicole Sheetz Frith; seven grandchildren; and six of his seven siblings, including his brother Bob Sheetz.
Neil Vigdor covers breaking news for The Times, with a focus on politics.
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