IRVINE, CA-Bill Langston, co-founder of Snyder Langston, a real estate and construction advisor to Fortune 500, mid-size and start-up companies, has passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer; he was 80 years old. Langston leaves his family, co-workers and friends with memories of a man who made the most of his life.

Langston, along with Don Snyder, founded the firm in 1959. According to chairman Steve Jones, he mentored many employees, who were fortunate to know him as a leader, one of the great joke tellers and someone who could be counted as a friend. “I have often referenced his unusually entrepreneurial orientation that always sought to see any aspect of the business that would serve our clients as an area worth understanding and mastering,” Jones said in a prepared statement.

One of nine children, Langston was born in Farmville, NC. As a teenager, the family settled in Myrtle Beach, SC, where he played semi-pro baseball for two years as a first baseman. He also served as a volunteer fireman. In 1953, he married Beverly Kath, his partner and the love of his life for 59 years.