William Maley was born and raised in the Buena Vista section of Elizabeth Township. He raised his children there, bought property and developed homes, and founded his successful electrical contracting company in nearby McKeesport.

Mr. Maley, 83, died of cancer Sunday in his Elizabeth Township home. He made it clear before he died that he wanted to give back to Buena Vista.

In honor of his late mother, Christina, he established the Christina and William Maley Charitable Foundation as a college fund for children from the neighborhood.

"Education was everything to my father" and he wants to make sure that funds are available for Buena Vista children to attend college, said Karen C. Maley of Whitehall.

In addition, he provided funds for the Fallen Timber shelter in Elizabeth Township, which is operated by the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.

"He adopted some of his Labrador retrievers there," Ms. Maley said.

His current dog, a chocolate Lab named Lady, was part of the family circle that was with Mr. Maley when he died, his daughter said. Her father took advantage of a new Pennsylvania law that allows pet owners to set up a trust fund for pets.

"He wanted to provide for her veterinary care," his daughter said. He also made sure his family knew that he wanted two other Labrador retrievers, Lucky and Sandy, to be listed in his death notice along with the names of family members who pre-deceased him.

"We had a collie when we were growing up, but about 20 years ago when dad was semi-retired, he got more involved with dogs," Ms. Maley said.

In 1948 he started his company, TICO Electric, which stood for Television Installation Co.

"He started out installing television antennas and moved on to repairing televisions and radios and doing residential wiring" before moving to commercial and industrial wiring, his daughter said.

Mr. Maley "loved what he did" and worked very hard, but when he became successful "he was not a bragger and he was comfortable in his own skin," his daughter said.

In 2001 he sold the business to his son Richard, but continued to maintain a presence at the company.

Along the way he purchased 365 acres in Elizabeth Township, which was developed into Lincoln Hall Heights.

He was a World War II veteran, enlisting on Sept. 11, 1942. He served as a master sergeant and communications chief. He attended the Army Air Forces Radio Mechanic and Radar Mechanic School. He served with the 405th Fighter Squadron of the 371st Fighter Group. He received the WWII Victory, Good Conduct and American Defense Service medals and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five Bronze Stars.

Mr. Maley studied electrical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He was a member and past president of the McKeesport Rotary Club; the board of directors of the McKeesport Boys Club; the Elizabeth Township Sanitary Authority; and the National Electric Contractors Association.

He was a member of Youghiogheny Country Club and Duquesne-McKeesport Lodge No. 731, Free and Accepted Masons, and was a 32nd-degree Mason.

In addition to his daughter he is survived by his wife of 59 years, Dorothy Mae Herb Maley; two sons, William Howard of Deep Creek, Md., and Richard G. of Elizabeth Township; a daughter, Paulette M. Lavsa of Franklin Park; two brothers, George Maley of Elizabeth Township and Edward Maley of Martinsburg, W.Va.; a sister, Kathleen Vesche of Elizabeth Township; five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Visitation will be today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Gilbert Funeral Home and Crematory, 6028 Smithfield St., Elizabeth Township. Services will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow in the funeral home chapel. Entombment with military honors will be at Mount Vernon Cemetery Mausoleum, Elizabeth Township.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Fallen Timber shelter of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, 1680 Fallen Timber Road, Elizabeth 15037.