Jerry Turner, one of the fathers of the modern running business, died last week. He was 82.

Turner had a 60-year career in the footwear business, with his first major influence coming as president of Brooks in the 1970s. There he helped create the stability shoe category and pioneered the use of EVA, an air infused foam, used to replace rubber as a midsole material. Turner said he was inspired by a conversation he had with a young miler named Marty Liquori, who pushed the exec to find a better midsole material than rubber.

Turner sought out a chemical engineer at one of his suppliers who helped develop EVA as a lightweight, durable alternative. The EVA midsole made its debut the following year in a shoe called The Brooks Villanova named for the Philadelphia college where Liquori ran and established his own fame.

Turner left Brooks and made his fortune as owner of American Sporting Goods in California, where he became known for developing affordable quality athletic footwear that sold primarily through mid-tier retailers. Turner was one of the first footwear execs to source heavily out of China in factories controlled by the family of his second wife Margaret Oung. Turner produced shoes under his own Turntec name and for other brands he developed or acquired, including Ryka and Avia.

Although he was president of ASG for many years, Turner remained at his heart a product guy and inveterate tinkerer. He built a miniature factory in the back offices of his Orange County headquarters, where he and his team built and tested shoes and eventually built them in large quantities in their Asian factories.

Turner was a serious student of the shoe business, staying up to date on the newest technologies and companies. He also remained supportive of his two alma maters: Omaha Central High School and University of Pennsylvania.

In 2011, Turner sold ASG to Brown Shoe (now known as Caleres) for $145 million. He became one of the richest men in running, but he missed the business and in 2017 as soon as his non-compete with Caleres expired, he attempted a comeback launching Turner Footwear with the tagline “Legends Evolve.”

“I had to come back to the business,” he said at the time. “That’s where all my friends are.”

Turner is survived by his wife Margaret Oung, his former wife Jo-Ellen Turner, three children, a stepdaughter and seven grandchildren.

Donations can be made to the Central High School Foundation of Omaha at chsfomaha.org