Burt Shavitz, who co-founded the natural cosmetics company Burt's Bees before it was bought by Clorox, died Sunday in Bangor, Maine, at age 80.

He was surrounded by friends and family when he died, the Associated Press reported.

Shavitz died of respiratory complications, a spokesperson for Burt's Bees said.

Before Shavitz moved to Maine, he served in Germany for the U.S. Army and was a photographer in New York City for Time-Life.

He later moved to Maine as a hippie and started to sell honey. It was there he picked up a hitchhiker, Roxanne Quimby, who was a single mother and back-to-the-lander.

The two became partners in the 1980s, when Quimby began making beeswax candles from Shavitz's honey and selling them at farmers markets.