The Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz Foundation was established in 2017 to carry on Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz’s legacy of goodness and giving.
Kathleen Harshbarger was born on April 5, 1912 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Her father founded and ran the J.E. Harshbarger Dairy Company, filling a crucial need at the time of transporting surplus milk from dairy farmers to consumers.
Kathleen began to work at the Dairy as a bookkeeper in her teens, and after high school graduation, she enrolled in the Altoona School of Commerce, where she met Gerald (“Jerry”) Sheetz. He had been born on September 30, 1910 about 30 miles northwest of Altoona in Spangler.
Kathleen and Jerry were married in November 1930, and went on to have eight children between 1932 and 1955: Jim, Bob, Nan, Marge, Joe, Steve, Charlie, and Louie. Jerry joined the Dairy too, rising through the ranks to become second-in-command. Together, Kathleen and Jerry instilled a strong work ethic in their children, encouraging all of them to take part-time jobs (largely at the Dairy) by the age of 12. In the 1940s, Jerry opened five dairy stores of his own, selling milk and ice cream.
In 1952, when Bob was 18 years old, he purchased one of his father’s dairy stores and expanded its offerings. His sisters and brother Steve all pitched in to help, and in the 1960s, Bob was able to open several more “Sheetz Kwik Shoppers” with a wide array of grocery and other take-home items.
In the 1970s, at Steve’s urging, the company began to add gasoline to their locations. And in the 1980s, joined by brothers Joe, Charlie, Louie and Bob’s son Stan, the company rebranded as simply “Sheetz” and opened its 100th location. Today, Sheetz has over 700 stores in 7 states across the country.
As for the family, Kathleen and Jerry Sheetz now have over 130 descendants (including spouses), some of whom continue to work for Sheetz and live in Blair County, and some of whom do not. All of their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, however, are aware of the values that Kathleen and Jerry upheld and their love for the Blair County area. With that legacy in mind, the family established a foundation in their honor to carry on their good deeds in the community that so many of us call home.
