James Earl Jones never intended to live in Pawling, NY, where he owned a home for 50 years and died this week.

The acclaimed actor died on Monday, August 9, at the age of 93 at his home in the small town about 70 miles north of New York City, his agent confirmed to PEOPLE.

The man, who was from Arkabutla, Mississippi, had lived in the town for more than 50 years after purchasing a property there in the 1970s following a fateful visit with a friend.

According to a profile published in 2012 by the Poughkeepsie Journal, Jones first came by when a friend from New Jersey, who was looking for a new, larger home, invited him to join him on a road trip to the north of the state to look for a house.

The friend ultimately did not buy the property he had in mind, but Jones did.

“I liked it,” Jones told the outlet at the time, praising the “big trees… they were big enough to hug.”

He settled in the area and kept a house there for the next 50 years until his death. (He also owned a house in Los Angeles, according to the New York Times.) During this time, he raised his son Flynn in Pawling and began buying up properties adjacent to his original property, eventually amassing 10 properties, according to Realtor.com.

According to records obtained by the site, Jones’ reported purchases include one property sold for $16,500 in 1993, two in 1994 for $108,000 and $177,500, respectively, and another for $320,000 in 2000.

But the star didn’t just invest in real estate. He also gave something back to the small community with just under 2,000 residents.

The magazine notes that he was involved in raising funds for his son’s alma mater, the Poughkeepsie Day School, and participated in the Young Playwrights Festival at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House.

A former Dutchess County official who knew Jones fondly remembered his neighbor in an obituary published on midhudsonnews.com.

“Yes, he was a celebrity, but he was the most genuine person you would ever want to meet. There was nothing contrived about this man,” Dave Gamache, a Pawling native, told the outlet. “He loved Pawling, he really loved Pawling, and he loved the people. He was active in the community.”

Despite his star status, Gamache adds, he was “as nice, wonderful and kind a person as he was when he was at the top of his profession.”

Jones is best known for his portrayal of Darth Vader in star Wars Movies and Mufasa in The Lion KingIn recent years he has played in productions by At the Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin RoofAnd Much ado about nothingstarring Vanessa Redgrave. In 2012, Jones received his fourth Tony nomination for The best man.

Throughout his decades-long career, he never lost his passion for storytelling.

“I’d love to play anything that gives me a chance to meet people who are really different from me,” he once told PEOPLE. “I want to say as much as I can about how I feel about myself – not my black self or my American self, but my real self.”