Harold W. Gourgues, an advisor, author and Catholic deacon regarded as one of the pioneers of modern financial planning, has died at the age of 68.
   Gourgues died Aug. 18 after battling pancreatic cancer.
   He was well known in the industry for his advocacy of need-based selling-providing a value-added management process that made the needs of clients a priority.
   Gourgues espoused this philosophy as early as the 1970s with Robinson-Humphrey in Atlanta.
   "Harold's pioneering work with financial planning at Robinson-Humphrey, his active service on the Board of the International Association for Financial Planning and his many writings and speeches to industry professionals have left a lasting imprint upon our profession," said Dick Saunders, first vice president at Raymond James Financial and a friend and colleague of Gourgues.
   "His passing is a great loss, but his legacy to our profession will endure," Saunders added.
   Gourgues began mentoring and teaching in the mid 1980's, launching his widely read "Gourgues Report" and writing several textbooks that are still used in university financial planning courses. He later devoted much of his time to philanthropy and church work and was ordained in 1990 as a deacon.