He was a giant on Bay Street and a giant in the world of philanthropy, but he will likely be remembered most for his immense heart.

Raymond Chang, 65, a Jamaican-born Chinese Canadian, passed away Sunday, months after undergoing a bone marrow transplant from his brother. His death was confirmed by Sheldon Levy, president of Ryerson University, on Sunday evening.

Chang’s oversight as the former CEO of CI Financial was highly respected in the business world, but his philanthropy was what stood out most.

He is survived by his wife, Donette Chin-Loy, and two children.

On Monday, the University of West Indies, where Chang was a major donor, announced they were flying flags at half-mast at their Caribbean campuses.

Chang’s sudden turn for the worse was something of a surprise. It had been about nine months since he had a bone marrow transplant for his leukemia from his brother, and the prognosis seemed good.

His family was by his side at the end when he passed away at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Daughter Bridgette called for a priest before he died.

“It is the loss of my life. We had the most perfect love. He was the kindest person. The most incredible, smartest person I have ever met,” said a distraught Chin-Loy Chang.

“He was always so respectful toward everyone. I waited a long time to find the perfect man. it was the best years of my life. I’m not sure how to go on without him.”

For Chin-Loy Chang it was a particularly tough day because her husband died on the anniversary of her father’s death.

The 2014 recipient of the Order of Canada, who had received the Order of Jamaica three years earlier, was affectionately known as the “student” chancellor at Ryerson University until his tenure ended in 2012. He was also the namesake behind the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at the university.

“In some sense, he was bigger than life itself because of his generosity, his good spirits and his humour,” said Levy.

“The loss is not only huge to the university, but to the entire country. You could never say enough about what he accomplished and his humility and love of life,” Levy said, adding that students were always on Chang’s mind.

Levy said Chang made it a priority to visit classrooms while he was chancellor and on his first official visit he decided to drop by a dance class, rather than a business finance class, as one might expect.

Chang’s presence was felt not only at Ryerson University, but across Toronto. He was a board member on the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation and established a chair at the University of Toronto in internal medicine. He also started a fellowship for West Indian doctors at the University Health Network.

“Ray will be sorely missed as he was an extraordinary and kind person. He always said that he was Chinese in heritage, Jamaican by birth and Canadian by choice,” said Tennys Hanson, CEO of the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation.

Recently, Chang was in the spotlight after getting into a bidding war with Michael Lee-Chin, his good friend and another Jamaican-born Chinese-Canadian businessman. In the end the two men donated $40,000 to persuade Jamaica’s Tessanne Chin, last year’s winner of the U.S. TV singing contest The Voice, to sing at a fundraising event for the University of the West Indies.

Both men have donated millions to a number of causes, including the Royal Ontario Museum and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. They were also both named outstanding philanthropist of the year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals at different times.

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Chang had come to Canada in 1967 from Jamaica, graduating in 1970 from the University of Toronto as an electrical engineer. He then became a chartered accountant, and joined with partners in a tiny investment fund company in 1983. It was managing $5 million in assets when it started, but over a 20-year period the firm morphed into CI Financial, now managing more than $60 billion.

Despite Chang’s generosity, reflected in millions of dollars in annual charitable donations, the benefactor was averse to publicity and often wanted to remain anonymous.

“It’s not about the recognition. I really am not doing anything different than my grandfather or father, who always gave back,” Chang told the Star in a 2011 interview. “At the end of the day, life has been good to me. Canada has been good to me. And there are lots of people who can do with a hand up.”

Chang was one of 12 children raised by Gladstone and Maisie Chang in Kingston during the 1950s and ’60s. In a book by Ray Chen, The Shopkeepers, chronicling 150 years of the Chinese in Jamaica, Chang recounts his childhood with 30 siblings and cousins living in five houses on the same street.

With files from Tony Wong and Royson James

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