Joseph Oliver was doing OK as an engineer for helicopter companies, reports 6abc.

But when the Vietnam War wound down, production slowed and he was laid off.

“It was disastrous,” Oliver said. “I had a family, a wife, and six kids.”

So he took a leap of faith and went to church.

That’s where someone suggested he get into the air conditioning business.

“It’s scary, but I figured that that’s what God wanted for me,” he said.

Oliver founded Oliver Heating & Cooling in 1971, located today in Morton.  

He brought his Depression-era hard work ethic to his business and his sons.

His sons all grew up in the business,

Fifty years later, son David is CEO of a company with 230 employees that handle heating, air conditioning, electrical and remodeling for residential and commercial properties.

Employees are recognized “for character and not for, let’s say, who’s the best salesman,” Joseph says.

The company reaches out to those in need with free furnace work under its “Heat for the Holidays” program.

Son Billy, now sheet metal foreman and fleet manager, watched his dad build the company from the ground up and says the company’s evolution has been “amazing.”

Read more at 6abc about Oliver Heating and Cooling.