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The reclusive beekeeper who co-founded Burt’s Bees – and whose face and wild beard appeared on labels for the natural cosmetics – died on Sunday at the age of 80.

Burt Shavtiz died of respiratory complications in Bangor, Maine, surrounded by family and friends, according to a spokeswoman for Burt’s Bees.

Shavitz was a hippie who was making a living by selling honey when his life was altered by a chance encounter with hitchhiker Roxanne Quimby.

According to Mental Floss, Shavitz sold the honey from his truck.

Quimby was a single mother and a back-to-the-lander who impressed Shavitz with her ingenuity and self-sufficiency.

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Burt Shavtiz, pictured at his home last year, died of respiratory complications in Bangor, Maine

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3150534/Burt-Shavitz-Burt-Burts-Bees-dies-80.html#ixzz3fEHKvlv9
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