The man responsible for bringing the the 2010 Winter Games to Vancouver has died.

Jack Poole, a legendary Vancouver businessman, died Friday following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Poole was chairman of the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee's board of directors and also headed up the city's bid for the Games.

His death comes one day after the flame for the Vancouver Games was lit in Olympia, Greece.

"Jack was a man of great passion and drive, and we had all hoped and prayed that he would live to experience the Games he played such a major role in securing for Canada," said John Furlong, the chief executive officer of Vancouver's Olympic committee in a statement.

"He had so looked forward to the Olympic Flame lighting, and when I talked to him last night, we made plans to visit soon to show him pictures of Greece and the magnificent Lighting Ceremony."

Poole was one of B.C.'s top real estate developers and also known for his philanthropy.

He was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and in July of 2009, he sought radical treatment at a Seattle hospital that uses an aggressive combination of both chemotherapy and radiation.

Poole's journey to the Olympics began in 2001, when he was chosen to lead Vancouver's bid for the Games.

He shepherded the bid committee through the win for the Games in Prague and became chairman of the board, known as VANOC, in October of 2003.

"I think the Games will nevertheless bear his stamp and he will always be identified with their successful delivery, as he was with winning them in the first place," said Richard Pound, a member of the board of directors in a e-mail to The Canadian Press.

"I am sure that the whole community and VANOC in particular will work even harder to make Jack proud. "

Poole was 76.

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