The May Report: 3/16/2011: Sad news: 53 year old Jim Tyree, a southwest sider who worked his way up to become CEO of Mesirow Financial who has been a true friend to Chicago high tech, is dead of stomach cancer

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Sad news: 53 year old Jim Tyree, a southwest sider who worked his way up to become CEO of Mesirow Financial who has been a true friend to Chicago high tech, is dead of stomach cancer

www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110316/NEWS01/110319884/mesirow-ceo-tyree-dies-after-cancer-battle

Mesirow CEO Tyree dies after cancer battle
By: Lorene Yue March 16, 2011

James C. Tyree
(Crain’s) – James Tyree, the chairman and chief executive officer of Mesirow Financial, died Wednesday afternoon, five months after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Mr. Tyree, 53, was also chairman of the Sun-Times Media Group LLC, which he and a group of investors bought out of bankruptcy proceedings in 2009.

Mesirow did not release Mr. Tyree’s cause of death except to say there was an “unexpected complication.”

Mr. Tyree, 53, was hospitalized earlier this month with pneumonia, a likely side-effect of his aggressive chemotherapy treatment. He learned in October that he had stomach cancer.

Despite his diagnosis, he remained optimistic after having survived a kidney and pancreas transplant in 2006.

Mr. Tyree had been chairman chief executive officer of Mesirow Financial since 1994. The firm has been positioning itself to operate in Mr. Tyree’s absence while he was being treated for his cancer.

“We will honor him by continuing his legacy and following the tenets that he taught us,” Richard Price, Mesirow’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Because of Jim’s leadership, he has prepared us well to band together through this difficult time.”

Mr. Tyree is survived by his wife and children.

Read more: www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110316/NEWS01/110319884/mesirow-ceo-tyree-dies-after-cancer-battle#ixzz1GoQmzS00
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Ron May here. Jim Tyree was a true friend to the high tech and financial community in Chicago. Fifty-three is far too young to die and Jim endured far more than his share of trials. Not only did he struggle with juvenile diabetes, and he served as the head of the JDF — he nearly died several times from diabetic comas which he outlined for me in some dramatic emails about ten years ago. He was on the floor for days in one case and it was truly touch and go on whether he would make it. With his characteristic modesty and humility, he did not talk much about it. He opened up to me because we both had some serious health issues, I believe.

By coincidence, he and I had the same eye doctor, Dr. Mathew MacCumber of Illinois Retina Associates. Jim did a national search to find Dr. MacCumber, and I got lucky — I just got his name from an opthamalogist in town.

Jim officiated at an event sponsored by TMR at Dave & Busters in the fall of 2000. He was, to put it plainly, a mensch.

He also had the trust of all the powers-that-be in town including Mayor Daley who turned over to Jim the job of finding the VC who would manage the $5MM city venture fund. Jim initially gave it to divine and when divine gave it back, he decided to give it to Matt McCall.

I never heard one negative word about Jim from anyone who worked for him or knew him.

Jim was not an elitist. He was a man of the people. He would often attend events, be it FirstTuesday or BIGFrontier back about ten years ago, and he hung out with the folks. No standing on ceremony or rank with Jim.

Jim came from a very modest background. He went to Marist High School which at the time was an all boys Catholic school. Jim caddied at the Beverly Country Club. He worked his way up from very modest beginnings.

I saw him in 2006 at Navy Pier after his double transplant at UW-Madison for both a kidney and a pancreas.

tinyurl.com/4nvzw8o

He was as happy as could be imagined. Here he was, 49 — not even 50 yet — and his major life’s health problem had been solved. He did not even have to take insulin after the double transplant.

On 2/2/2007, I wrote:
“* A woman from Jim Tyree’s office at Mesirow Financial called at 4:25pm on Thursday. She wanted my fax # for an update of their records. Naturally, I asked her how Jim is doing and she said that he’s doing great. “He looks really good, and he can eat anything he wants,” she said, adding that even she can’t do that. Jim just had a kidney and pancreas transplant — known as KP in the trade — so he is no longer diabetic, as long as it holds.”

I learned the sad news about Jim’s stomach cancer on December 8, 2010 at the Funding Feeding Frenzy event. It had been mentioned in Crain’s and a few folks were talking about it. That was not a long struggle unlike Jim’s previous ordeals. That is because stomach cancer is really nasty.

I’m sure we’ll get notes from people who knew him far better than I did.

But how young he was! Not even 54 yet.

Here’s a guy who rose the top of his profession by his late 30′s or early 40s and he never seemed to be ready to “retire” or coast for the rest of his career. In fact, at every step along the way, he took on new challenges with alacrity. And buying the Chicago Sun-Times. How bold and daring and what work!

He did not have to do that and he was under no obligation to take on all the community projects that he championed.

I would certainly like to attend the wake and it is obvious that it will be packed. I’ll let you know when it is announced where and when it is.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jim’s family.
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