Andy Bourland, the founder of ClickZ, has died at the age of 54 after a long battle with a heart condition. His heart was damaged by chemotherapy he received earlier in life when he waged and won a battle against cancer.

Bourland maintained a personal blog at bourland.com. In his last post titled "Tough Decisions," he discussed the various options he was weighing with his family for hospice care as he faced his final months of life.

"Andrew loved his life in your world. He enjoyed tremendously the back and forth exchange of ideas," his wife Jeanne Walker Bourland wrote in a post on his blog earlier this month.

Rick Parkhill, CEO of iMedia Communications and a longtime friend and colleague of Bourland's, wrote about his passing on President's Day, Feb. 16.

"In 1997, Andy and I competed for readers and ad dollars with our newly launched publishing products; his was ClickZ, mine was Digitrends. Although competitors, we were always friends and shared a mutual respect for one another. Andy and Ann Handley (co-founder of ClickZ) frequently attended and participated at the Digitrends Camp Interactive events. I remember our good times together at Beaver Creek and Squaw Valley in those early days of interactive marketing. We shared many experiences, ideas, and visions for what this business might become. I treasure those times with him," Parkhill wrote.

"I just returned last week from yet another industry confab, the iMedia Brand Summit in Bonita Springs, Fla.," he continued. "Several of us there knew Andy’s passing was imminent and we shared our thoughts and memories of him. The words gracious, generous, humble, enthusiastic, and optimistic were used to describe him. He touched many of us in this business, and we were fortunate to have such a good man be our ambassador for interactive marketing in the very early days of the business."

In closing, Parkhill wrote: "We will miss you Andy. Thanks for everything!"

Andy is survived by his wife Jeanne and his three children. You can read more about Andrew Rhodes Bourland on his blog at bourland.com.