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Shavitz, a "a
wild-bearded and free-spirited Maine man" and beekeeper,
co-founded the company with artist Roxanne Quimby in 1984, the
company said in a statement.
The pair started off making candles from beeswax before
developing a few years later the lip balm that exploded the
company's popularity and remains its best selling product, it
said.
"It is with broken hearts that we must convey the saddest news:
Burt Shavitz, our co-founder and namesake, has left for greener
fields and wilder woods," the company said in a statement on
Facebook.
A company spokeswoman told USA Today that Shavitz died of
respiratory issues on Sunday surrounded by family and friends in
Bangor, Maine.
The company was acquired by Clorox Co in 2007.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Nick
Macfie)
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