FORTUNE — Kevin Landry passed away last week at the age of 69, after a long battle with lung cancer. He had been the second employee of Boston-based private equity firm TA Associates when he was just 24 years-old, and later became CEO of an organization that would raise $18 billion to invest in a wide range of growth equity and buyout opportunities.
Most every private equity executive has enemies, but I never heard a disparaging word about Kevin. He seemed universally regarded as kind and thoughtful, plus an industry innovator who helped institutionalize a labor-intensive deal origination strategy that later would become the basis of successful firms like Advent International and Summit Partners.
Landry also was one of the very few private equity bosses who would return calls from a cub trade reporter, and take time to explain all of the industry intricacies that I clearly did not know.
When word began to spread about his illness a couple years back, TA’s limited partners gave Landry a standing ovation at the firm’s annual meeting — something that no one seems to recall happening at any other annual meeting for any reason. It was well deserved.
A memorial service will be held on August 15 at 11am at Memorial Church at Harvard University. His family requests that any donations in his memory be made to the Landry Cancer Biology Consortium, recently formed via a $10 million contribution from Landry’s TA partners. Those can be sent to:
Recording Secretary Office
Harvard University Development
124 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Rest in peace Kevin…