Yesterday, Ray Tye, Boston-based businessman and philanthropist, passed away at the age of 87. Every Sunday morning, he was accustomed to reading the newspaper with his wife.

He never missed an opportunity to help people.

Tye, Head of the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation and former Chairman of United Liquors and, succumbed to death in his Cambridge home after battling with cancer.

His organization was known for donating lump sum amounts to local and international medical bodies. He, himself used to help many families and organizations who were needy.

Fernanda Medeiros, Manager of the International Centre at the Children’s Hospital, said, “The world has lost a great, great man”.

Fernanda used to work in close coordination with Tye to help several children from foreign origin get necessary treatments.

In spite of doing good deeds and helping so many people, Tye never liked to be called a philanthropist.

Eileen Tye, said, “He always hated the word. He’d say, ‘It’s not philanthropy, it’s a moral responsibility. What you take you give back in the world’. He never thought of himself. His most used phrase was, ‘How can I help you?’”.

Besides his wife, Eileen and son Mark, 52, Tye has three children from his first marriage, James Tye of Rio de Janeiro, Carol Rose of Lakewood, Colo., and Randy O’Brien; a stepdaughter Lauren Cronin; and five grandchildren.