Fred DuBois died, at the age of 98, on Jan. 29, 2014. He was a partner with Joseph Forshaw III at Forshaw of St. Louis from 1948 until 1974. He pioneered the sale of factory-built fireplaces to homebuilders in the Midwest, and was a co-founder of the Fireplace Institute, a forerunner of the HPBA.

He was later involved in the distribution of Richard LeDroff fireplaces from France, first through Forshaw and later through the Adams Company. An MIT-trained engineer, Fred was well-known in the industry for his technical expertise, his passion for his product, and a wonderful, droll sense of humor.