Engineer Leaves University a Big Gift

He spent 30 years working for GM.

Forrest D l Coontz

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. (AP) — A West Virginia University alumnus who died last year has left $2.3 million to the school.

WVU says the gift from Forrest D.L. Coontz will benefit students in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, adding to an endowed scholarship in his and his wife's names.

Coontz went to the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources after serving in the Navy during World War II. The school said Coontz went to WVU on the G.I. Bill and earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

He went to work for General Motors, where he spent 30 years working his way to superintendent. He retired from the Flint, Michigan, GM V-8 Engine Plant in 1980.

Coontz's wife, Barbara, died in 2008, and he died last year at the age of 93.

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