Warren M. Shapleigh, former president of U.S. pet food giant Ralston Purina Co, has died after a battle with neurological disease, his family said.

Shapleigh was 89 and a longtime resident of Ladue, Mo., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday.

Shapleigh served for four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, working on a submarine chaser for three years near New Guinea before becoming an executive officer on a fleet tanker in the western Pacific, the newspaper said.

He joined Ralston Purina in 1961 and became president of the business in 1972.

He was president for six years, helping transform the company from a feed business to a diversified enterprise. As president, he helped the company purchase Van Camp, producers of Chicken of the Sea brand tuna.

He served on several boards after he retired, including the boards of Washington University, the Missouri Botanical Gardens and J.P. Morgan. He also served as president of the Ann W. Olin Foundation, a charity that closed in 2004 after giving away its last $10 million.

"It's very simple. Our plan is to disburse all the money," he said at the time.